


Ladrien: The Blush Ship

by Saccha



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Confessions, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Identity Reveal, Idiots in Love, Jealousy, Kwami Swap, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Miraculous Tendencies, Misunderstandings, One Shot Collection, Reverse Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Romance, Secret Relationship, Ship Wars, Social Media, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, age appropriate sexuality, gender swap, partial reveal, reverse crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-05-16 20:37:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 20,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14818442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saccha/pseuds/Saccha
Summary: A series of (mostly) unconnected one shots for Ladrien June 2018, starring Ladrien with cameos from the other sides of the love square.Including, but not limited to:RevealsReverse love squareSillinessAnd teenagers blushing. A lot.





	1. Self Restraint (part one)

**Author's Note:**

> Day One: Accidental Reveal
> 
> In which Ladybug and Cat Noir discuss Ladybug's boyfriend.

Tuesday nights Cat Noir and Ladybug met at Montparnasse Tower for patrol— ‘patrol’ being an excuse to run around and goof off in their suits, and also an excuse for Cat Noir to spend even more time with his Lady. And hey, it  _ did _ dissuade crime, so their kwamis couldn’t complain too much.

Cat Noir landed on the tower’s rooftop with a soft thud, and crouched to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. He made it a game to see how close he could get to Ladybug before she noticed him. Since she had started dating him— Adrien him— it was a lot easier.

His Lady leaned against the railing on the opposite side of the roof, gazing off into the distance with glazed eyes and a goofy smile on her face. Cat Noir glanced in the direction she was looking, and yup, there was the latest billboard of him modeling his father’s fall line.

He crept closer, and she didn’t notice him. He crept even closer, and she still didn’t notice him. He crept close enough that he could have reached out his arm and touched her, and she  _ still _ didn’t notice him. Without even trying to be stealthy he stood up, and there wasn’t even a flicker of reaction from her. He pouted. There was no fun in this.

“Lost in thought, Bugaboo?”

Ladybug shrieked and spun around. Cat Noir jumped backwards to dodge her flailing arms. 

She huffed out a breath and put a hand on her chest. “Don’t do that! You scared me.”

“Sorry, sorry.” He held up his hands, palms out in front of him. The smirk on his face said he wasn’t really sorry. “I didn’t realize you were that distracted. Thinking of your mysterious boyfriend again? Are you ever going to tell me his name?”

Ladybug put her hands on her hips and scowled at him.

“No way. I remember what happened with Theo. If Adr- if my boyfriend got akumatized because of you I’d string you up from the Eiffel Tower.”

“I’d never do that. I know how much you care about him.”

The dopey expression returned.

“Yeah, he’s just so... amazing,” she said with a dreamy sigh. “So sweet and funny and handsome. He’s kind to everyone, even when they don’t deserve it.”

Cat Noir fought a dopey smile of his own. He still couldn’t get over the fact he was dating her. Whenever she talked about him like this it was hard to keep himself from kissing her right then and there.

“It’s so hard to keep myself from kissing him when I see him at school.”

_ Say what? _

“...School?”

That snapped Ladybug out of her love-induced stupor.

“Uh! Did I say school? I meant  _ after _ school, when I go visit him at his house.”

“I’m pretty sure you said ‘at school.’ Why wouldn’t you be able to kiss him when you’re at his house?”

Ladybug tried for an innocent smile, but it came out more like a grimace.

“Well that is- you know- you gotta- when I say  _ school _ \- UGH.” She slumped over with a defeated sigh. “You’ve got me. We’re actually in the same class. That’s how I met him.”

_ Holy crap. _ Cat Noir mentally ran through a list of all his female classmates. All of them had either been akumatized or didn’t remotely fit Ladybug’s appearance, except for—  _ Marinette. Ladybug is Marinette. How did I not see it before? We literally sit within arm’s reach of each other. Plagg was right; people really are blind. _

“Oh,” he said stupidly. He didn’t think his brain was going to work for at least a day or two. “I didn’t realize you already knew him.”

“What did you think?” she said drily. “That I just picked him out of a crowd? Like, ‘yes, that one, he’s cute.’”

“Kind of, yeah.”

“How shallow do you think I am? Ugh, my kwami is going to kill me for this slip up. It’s a good thing I never told you who he was, otherwise I would’ve given my identity away.”

“Haha, yeah, good thing...” Cat Noir laughed weakly. “So, patrol?”

Ladybug shot him a devastating grin. “Let’s go, Kitten.”

(He slipped off the roofs three separate times that evening before Ladybug sent him home with firm directions to get some rest. He had no idea how he was going to get through school tomorrow.)


	2. Ladybug and Marinette are BFFs (part one)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladrien June, Day Two: Babysitting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Adrien helps Ladybug babysit.

Adrien bit his lip as he scanned the chaotic park for a place to transform. He’d taken no more than two steps toward the promising nook when Ladybug shot past him holding a young, brown haired girl on her hip. The superhero bounced on her toes as she turned her head back and forth, desperately searching the crowd.

“Ladybug,” the girl on her hip said, “Is Marinette going to be okay?”

“Yes, of course.” Ladybug laughed nervously. “As soon as I defeat the akuma everything will go back to normal and you two can go have fun at the waterpark together, yeah? I just need to find someone to...”

Ladybug’s eyes landed on Adrien and her shoulders sagged with relief.

“Oh thank god,” she murmured. “Adrien! I need your help.”

She scurried over to him and shoved the girl into his arms.

“I, uh, her babysitter got caught by the akuma and I need someone I trust to keep her safe. Can you watch her for me? Please?”

Adrien’s face turned red at her words. “S-sure, okay.” 

She  _ trusted _ him! He knew she trusted him as Cat Noir, but now he knew she trusted him as Adrien as well.

“Thank you so much.” She smiled that heart-stopping smile at him, (and the way she said his name... Adrien swooned) then flung her yo-yo out to catch on a nearby building.

“You be good, okay?” she said to the little girl before swinging away.

Adrien shook himself out of his Ladybug induced euphoria and stared down at the little girl in his arms. She looked back up at him with big, round eyes.

“Hi, my name is Manon and I’m five years old and my babysitter got caught by the akuma and I ran away and she has pictures of you on her wall.”

Adrien blinked at Manon’s rapid stream of words. Did the girl even breathe during all that?

“Ah, hello Manon. Who’s your babysitter?”

“Marinette! She really likes you.”

Oh! Of course. Marinette must have pictures of him from school and when they hung out together with Alya and Nino. It was nice to hear she considered him such a good friend.

“I know Marinette. We go to school together.” He smiled at the little girl. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. Adrien had never babysat anyone before, but it didn’t seem too difficult.

Manon grinned at him conspiratorially. “Do you want to hear Marinette’s secret?”

“Um, maybe you shouldn’t-”

“She and Ladybug are best friends!” The girl leaned back with a satisfied look.

Adrien blinked again.  _ What? _ He’d never heard of any connection between Ladybug and Marinette before, besides the whole ‘rescued from an akuma’ thing both of them had going on with literally all of his classmates.

“Are- Are you sure?”

Manon nodded.

“Ladybug knew my name and that Marinette was my babysitter.  _ And _ she knew that Marinette and I are going to the waterpark today. I didn’t tell her that so Marinette  _ must’ve! _ And one time when Ladybug rescued me, I asked Marinette if she and Ladybug were friends and she said yes and told me not to tell anybody.”

It was less shocking than it should have been. Adrien wondered how they knew each other. Did Ladybug rescue her once and they hit it off? Did they know each other outside of the mask?  _ Did Marinette know who Ladybug was?! _

“I promise not to tell anyone,” he said seriously, his mind still spinning with possibilities.

“Good. You can’t, ‘cause it’s a secret.”

Adrien nodded. “I’ll make sure to get you back to Marinette after the akuma is defeated...”

...The akuma! Adrien couldn’t transform and fight if he had a kid with him. He frantically looked around to find someone else to give Manon to. But... his Lady was trusting him! If she came back and he wasn’t watching Manon that trust would be broken. But he had to help Ladybug fight the akuma.

Adrien groaned. How was he going to get out of this?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued on day nine: lucky charm.


	3. Lady Cat and Bug Noir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladrien June, Day Three: Kwami Swap

The door slammed against the wall with a bang as Adrien burst into his room and sprinted to his desk. He threw himself into his computer chair. It slid wildly across the floor, and he grabbed the edge of his desk to keep himself from overshooting.

With a shaking hand he jostled the mouse. The seconds it took for the computer to wake up took an eternity. He brought up the Ladyblog and cursed when he accidentally closed the window rather than expand it. If only he hadn’t dropped and broken his phone  _ right after _ they defeated the akuma he wouldn’t have to suffer through this.

The Ladyblog finally loaded up, and Adrien eagerly clicked on the latest akuma report. That afternoon’s akuma had switched his and Ladybug’s powers— and costumes— and he didn’t have enough time during the battle to appreciate how his partner looked in black. But thanks to Alya, (oh, thank you, Alya) there were now multiple hi-res photos from different angles to him to peruse at his leisure.

Adrien sucked in a breath when the first picture of Ladybug loaded in, or should he call her Lady Cat? Sky blue eyes with baby blue sclera that more than once left him spellbound during the fight, earning him multiple blows, stared out at him from the photo. Her cat ears blended into her messy black hair, and instead of a bell she had a blue ribbon around her neck. Her tail, one sharp-eyed commenter pointed out, wasn’t a leather belt but a rope of braided yarn. Adrien hadn’t noticed that detail. (Haha, de- _ tail. _ He got it even when he wasn’t trying.)

After scouring the rest comments, (most of which were gushing, and a few of which were battle analysis) and downloading all the pictures, he opened twitter in one monitor and tumblr in the other. Tumblr’s gif game was strong; give one of the users a computer and five minutes and they’d have one up in three. He logged into his secret, fanboy account, the one his PR team (or anybody else for that matter) didn’t know about, and, yup, his dashboard was already flooded with gifs  _ and _ fanart. Damn, they moved fast. He furiously began saving his favorites.

Several increasingly narrow tag searches later, Adrien had a folder full of Lady Cat pictures. (Seriously, how did the fan artist work so fast?) He was pleased to see that many people agreed with his “Lady Cat” moniker, though “CatNoir!Ladybug” was also popular. (Everyone agreed, amusingly enough, that his power-swap name was “Bug Noir”)

He made the mistake of clicking on the “Chatte Noire” tag and was horrified (and intrigued, but mostly horrified!) by what he saw there and he definitely  _ did not _ save any of those pictures to his shame folder.

(He cleared his search history later, just in case.)


	4. Creepy Crawly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladrien June, Day Four: Protecting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which there is a terrible beast.

They were only ten minutes into the movie when Adrien screamed and scrambled backwards over the back of the couch, landing in an undignified heap, shoulders on the ground, butt in the air, knees over his head.

Ladybug leapt to her feet.

“What?! What is it? What happened?”

Adrien flopped over onto his side then clambered back up. He peeked up over the back of the couch; his hands gripped the edge so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The flickering light from the TV reflected off his white face.

“A spider!” He pointed at a little black dot on the coffee table, then dropped back down, only his wide eyes visible over the edge of the couch.

“A spider?” Ladybug squinted. In the dim light she could kind of make out a speck on his otherwise immaculate white coffee table.

“A big one,” Adrien insisted.

Ladybug rolled her eyes, a smirk tugging at her lips. “I’ll take care of the monster, good citizen.”

It _was_ pretty big, now that Ladybug got a closer look. Big and blackish-brown and covered with fuzz. Its legs were curled up, turning it into a little ball. It was kinda cute in a pathetic, creepy way.

“I think you scared it,” Ladybug said to Adrien.

“Good. It scared me first.”

Ladybug stifled her giggles and reached out to pick up the spider, but when her hand was a couple centimeters away, the spider uncurled one leg, and then another.

She froze.

It was a lot bigger than she had realized.

The spider skittered across the table and she jumped back with a yelp, going over the back of the couch much like Adrien had, only somehow managing to turn the movement into a deft back walkover.

Ladybug cowered next to Adrien, peering over the edge of the back of the couch. Had spiders always been this scary? They had always seemed so harmless before.

“Where did it go?” Adrien squeaked.

At some point between scenes, when the TV screen went dark, the spider had vanished. Adrien ran over to the wall and flicked the lights back on. Ladybug pulled herself back up to full height and leaned over the edge of the couch to get a better look.

“Where could it have gone? It’s so big.” she said.

“I know!”

The two searched around the couch and television area to no avail. With the immaculate snow white couch and coffee table, and the light wood floors, the spider should have been easy to spot, but there was no sign of it anywhere, and they both refused to get on the floor to peer under the couch and table.

They ended up watching the rest of the movie from Adrien’s upper floor.

 

* * *

 

 

“I don’t get it, Tikki,” Marinette moaned, flopping down on her bed and pressing the heel of her hands into her eyes. “I was never afraid of spiders before. Why now?”

Tikki giggled. “It’s just a side effect of your miraculous. Spiders are one of the few things that actually eat ladybugs. To birds and mammals they apparently don’t taste very good.”

“What? How am I supposed be a superhero if I’m afraid of _spiders?_ ”

“It’s not that bad, Marinette,” Tikki said. “A lot of people are afraid of spiders and they get by just fine. So long as we don’t have any giant spider akumas, everything should be alright.

Marinette shuddered. “Please, don’t jinx us. Giant spider akumas... I don’t know what I’d do. Ugh, Adrien must think I’m such a wimp.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t. He’s afraid of spiders too, after all. And he doesn’t even have a bug miraculous to blame it on.”

Marinette smirked. That did make her feel better.

“I can’t let Cat Noir find out about this. He’d never let me live it down.”

That sparked an inexplicable bout of giggles from Tikki.

“What? What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing,” Tikki said and giggled harder.

 


	5. Ooops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladrien June, day five: saved from the paparazzi or fans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chloe is clingy

“Chloe, let me go!” 

Ladybug twisted in Chloe’s arms, her thumb digging into the other girl’s cheek as she tried to pry her off. Adrien was familiar with the whole twist-and-wriggle-out maneuver needed to escape unwanted contact without hurting the other person, but Chloe was unusually good at hanging on, and Ladybug wasn’t used to using it.

Her earrings urgently trilled the one minute warning.

“C’mon, Chloe,” Adrien said desperately. He grabbed his childhood friend around the waist and pulled. “Ladybug has to leave.”

“Don’t be silly Adrikins,” Chloe said in her shrill ‘happy’ voice. “My BFF always wants to spend more time with me.”

She rubbed her face against Ladybug’s shoulder affectionately, well as close to ‘affectionately’ as Chloe could do. Ladybug looked like she’d rather have an actual boa constrictor wrapped around her.

“Let. Me. Go.” she said through gritted teeth, but Chloe ignored her.

“Please,” Adrien begged.

This was bad. If Ladybug couldn’t get away... Well, Chloe wasn’t the  _ worst _ person to find out who Ladybug was, (that would be Hawkmoth, obviously) but she wasn’t the best either. Chloe wasn’t known for keeping her mouth shut, especially if it was about something that made her look good. Even if she didn’t broadcast the spotted heroine’s identity across the world, she’d still brag about knowing it, and that was its own nightmare.

On top of that, the small, sunny park they were at, while not exactly busy, wasn’t exactly private either. The chances of someone seeing Ladybug de-transform were pretty high.

Adrien wracked his brain desperately for something,  _ anything _ , that he could say or do to get Chloe to let go already.

An idea popped into his head. A really bad idea, he realized on later reflection. But it was the first thing he thought of and he grasped ahold of it tightly like the idiot he apparently was.

“Chloe! I have something important to tell you!”

“Can’t it wait? I’m busy right now.” Chloe held Ladybug even tighter, if that was possible. 

The heroine began to writhe in earnest in her arms, eyes wide and frantic.

“No, it’s important. I- I’m in love with you!”

Both girls’ heads whipped towards him, and it dawned on Adrien, with creeping dread, that he’d probably be dealing with the fallout of this for a long, long time.

Chloe’s grip on Ladybug slacked and her expression morphed into one of joy. She let go of the other girl completely, and slapped both hands over her cheeks, squealing.

“Oh, Adrikins~ I love you too!” She launched herself onto him with enough force to knock him back a few steps.

_ Come on, Ladybug. Run! _ He’d sacrificed his dignity and any chance of peace and quiet for the next month, if not more, to give her this opportunity.

But she didn’t run. She froze, white-faced, her eyes popping out of her head, her jaw dropped and lips curled in a mask of horror.

Her earrings shrilly beeped their last and final warning, and a wave of pink light washed over them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooops, I accidentally put some Chloe/Adrien in there. (Don't worry, he didn't mean it.)


	6. True Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day six: Andre's ice cream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe Andre's ice cream really is magic...

“-And blueberry for her eyes. Here you are, young Adrien~”

A cool breeze ruffled Adrien’s hair— a brief respite from the heat of the afternoon sun. Thank god the afternoon photoshoot had been canceled at the last minute. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to hold up under the unrelenting sun.

“Let me tell you a secret,” Andre said with a wink as he handed over Adrien’s red, black, and blue ice cream cone. “If you eat that your true love will surely appear before you.”

Adrien smiled. “I certainly hope so.”

He took a bite of the blueberry scoop and closed his eyes, savoring the creamy, cold dessert. It was the perfect treat for an early summer day.

“It’s delicious. Thank you-”

A large boom cut him off, the sound echoing across the plaza. 

Of course, why wouldn’t there be an akuma on his day off. Or maybe it wasn’t an akuma. Maybe someone set off a firework. In the middle of the day. 

Yeah, probably not.

He stared morosely down at the ice cream in his hand. Why couldn’t he have just one day to relax and eat ice cream or do whatever else he wanted to? His lips thinned into a grim line. By the time the battle ended it would surely already have melted, and it wasn’t like there was any safe (or hygenic) place to stash it anyway.

At least this meant he’d see his Lady, so the ice cream had sort of worked.

Before he could leave, a red blur flew through the sky, hurtling towards them. Ladybug hit the ground, cracking the pavement, and used the momentum of her fall to execute a back roll to regain her footing. She skidded across the pavement, sliding backwards towards Adrien and Andre, to slow her speed from the force of her impact.

By the time she bumped into Adrien, she had slowed enough that instead of bowling him over, she only knocked him back a single step. His arms wrapped around her automatically, bringing the ice cream cone so it was right in front of her face.

Ladybug blinked at the frozen treat in front of her, then turned her head to look up at him. He was left spellbound by those beautiful blue eyes, lost in her sudden, unexpected presence. He could feel every slight movement of her body pressed against him. 

She sucked in a breath and looked again at the ice cream, then back at his face. 

“Adrien?” she said.

He blushed at the sound of his name on her lips.

Andre squealed with joy.

“Another happy couple~”

 


	7. What Even Are These Akumas?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day seven: Prince(ss) style

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some akumas threaten to kill everyone in Paris--Some just turn everyone into pretty princesses.
> 
>  
> 
> ETA: ZiriO made some amazing fan art of this chapter [here](http://art-of-zirio.tumblr.com/post/174678561507/a-pair-of-akuma-inflicted-princess-outfits-for). Go check it out!

Adrien hiked his poofy pink skirt up as he ran down the street, dodging startled pedestrians. His silver tiara slid down into his eyes and he pushed it back up carelessly. Thank god he ditched his shoes a while back, he wasn’t sure if he could handle running in high heels. (Again. At least this time they weren’t  _ fused to his feet. _ )

The akuma cackled behind him, and a ray of light shot past Adrien and hit a businessman. The man stepped back in shock as his sensible black suit bloomed into a pastel dress made of satin and tulle.

Where was Plagg? Why did he choose  _ now _ to wander off? (Though he supposed there wasn’t really any good time for his kwami to go missing.) Adrien needed to get his hands on that pain-in-the-ass kwami and transform. Hopefully not into Pretty Princess Cat Noir— not that he wouldn’t rock it. The last place he definitely knew he had Plagg was the school, so he headed that way.

A red dot on the horizon brought both relief and dread. 

_ Please don’t let her see me _ . 

But as Ladybug swung by, she caught sight of him and barely avoided smacking into the lamp post she was hanging from. Instead she whipped around it in a clumsy circle and landed on the top.

She gaped down at him for a moment, then her lips curled into a smirk.

“Well, handsome boy, you really  _ do _ look good in everything.”

Adrien opened his mouth to channel his inner Cat Noir and say something that was no doubt both flirty and clever.

“Uhhhhhh.”

Ladybug’s smirk widened.

“Does the princess need rescuing?” she practically purred, then blushed hotly at her boldness.

“I- uh- Yes, please?”

Ladybug jumped down and sauntered over to him, cheeks still pink, her hips swaying in a sort of practiced, overly casual way. Dear god, the effect she had on him.

She swept him up into her arms, princess style, (heh) and without thinking he threw his arms up around her neck. Her blush returned with a vengeance.

“So, um, where to, handsome?”

Where was he heading again? In the presence of Ladybug’s embrace he had forgotten.

_ Oh, right. _

“The school, please.”

“As you wish, your highness.”

Ladybug leapt to the top of the nearest building and carried him across the roofs towards Francoise Dupont. She set him down on the top of the front steps. One of the lingering students (Kim. It was Kim.) burst out laughing at the sight of him.

“W-Well, if you ever need to be rescued again, be sure to call me.” Ladybug saluted and swung off on her yo-yo. Adrien waved shyly at her retreating back. He’d wear an excessively poofy princess dress any day for the excuse to be carried around by Ladybug.

Kim mock swooned in the background, but Adrien was too high on life to care.

(After scouring the school Adrien finally found Plagg in the teachers’ lounge refrigerator. Some poor staff member had brought a wheel of camembert to work and Plagg ate the entire thing.)

(He did transform into Pretty Princess Cat Noir. And he did rock it.)


	8. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day eight: secret meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought things were getting too fun around here so I wrote some angst.

It had been two weeks since Cat Noir mysteriously vanished. Two weeks since Adrien was pulled out of public school. And three days since Adrien Agreste was officially declared missing.

He wondered if anybody had made the connection yet.

Adrien pulled down the hood of his scruffy black sweater. Nobody had any reason to be near the abandoned parking lot so late at night, but it paid to be paranoid, and he didn’t know if there were any cameras around.

Hopefully Ladybug remembered their secret code, (she should; she was the one who came up with it and insisted he learn it) and hopefully Alya had figured out that the PM he sent her was from the actual Cat Noir and passed it along to Ladybug.

Adrien fiddled with the tear on his sleeve, pacing across the cracked pavement. Time had reduced parts of the parking lotto rubble and weeds grew up out of the cracks. He breathed deeply, trying to still the trembling of his hands. She’d come. She had to. If she didn’t...

The whiz of a yo-yo string followed by a soft thud cut through the quiet night air. He turned around to face Ladybug.

“Cat Noir?” She tentatively reached out a hand, her eyes full of hope and uncertainty.

“It’s me.” He pulled his hood down, revealing his face and disheveled blonde hair.

“Adrien? What are you- Everyone’s been looking for you. Your father is so worried. Here, I’ll get you home.” She made to take his arm.

“No, Bugaboo. It’s me. I’m Cat Noir.”

Ladybug blinked up at him, searching his eyes.

“I... I don’t understand,” she said in a small voice.

“I can prove it. My kwami’s name is Plagg. Yours is called Tikki— you told me that once. I gave you a red rose after we defeated Glaciator. Don’t you remember?” He cracked a crooked, sad smile.

Tears pooled in Ladybug’s eyes.

“It really is you.” She threw her arms around him in a tight hug, then pulled back, her hands on his shoulders. “Where have you been?”

“I didn’t abandon you, I promise. I- my ring- my miraculous-”

He held up his hand, his right hand, displaying his bare ring finger. Ladybug stared at it in horror.

“What happened?”

“Hawkmoth, he took it. He- you were right all those months ago.” He laughed bitterly. “He’s my father. My father’s Hawkmoth.”

“Oh, Kitty,” she breathed. She cradled his face with her hands and wiped the tears from his cheeks. Adrien hadn’t even realized he was crying.

“It’s a good thing you never told me who you are after all. Once he found out that I’m Cat Noir,  _ was _ Cat Noir, he tried to get me to tell him who you are. I’m not sure if he ever believed me when I said I didn’t know.”

Ladybug wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close again.

“It’s okay,” she murmured, rubbing reassuring circles into the base of his neck.

It wasn’t, but he appreciated the sentiment. He clutched her to him tightly.

“I didn’t know where to go or what to do. I thought about going to a friend of mine’s house, but that would be the first place he’d look for me.”

“You’re right. They already searched all of your friends’ houses, and all of your classmates’ as well. Where  _ were _ you?”

“On the streets. I didn’t take much cash with me, and I’ve already run out. I slept in abandoned buildings and alleyways. I never realized how  _ cold _ it gets at night. I had to be careful where I bought food. If someone recognized me, my father would find me within a minute.”

Adrien gasped out a sob, and the tears came in earnest. He buried his face in Ladybug’s hair and let them come.

“Okay, I’ll hide you at my place. They already searched it, so-”

“No! I can’t know who you are, now more than ever.” He pushed her back to arms length and looked her directly in the eyes. “You already told me too much. If they searched your house already that means you must be one of my friends or classmates.”

“I- Master Fu, then. You already know who he is, and he knows who we both are. You can stay there and we can talk freely.”

Adrien laughed wetly and wiped his face with his sleeve. “I knew you’d never let me down, my Lady.”

“We’ll figure this out. Together we can do anything, remember?”

They stayed there a long moment, grasping each other’s hands. They could get through this as long as they had each other.


	9. Ladybug and Marinette are BFFs (part two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day Nine: Lucky Charm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a continuation of day two: babysitting.

“Lood guck- I mean! Good luck on the test, Adrien.” Marinette said, blushing a light pink.

“Thanks. I’m sure I’ll do well. After all I have my Marinette lucky-” Adrien reached into his jacket pocket, but his fingers brushed only fabric. He blanched. “Oh, no.”

“What’s wrong?” Marinette asked.

“I can’t find it— the good luck charm you gave me.”

He checked his other jacket pocket, then his jeans pockets. Nothing. He lunged over to his bag and started frantically rifling through it, despite the fact he never kept the charm there before.

Marinette’s eyes went wide. “Oh, that’s right. I forgot I never- I mean, it’s okay, Adrien. It’s just a bracelet.”

“No, it’s not okay,” Adrien moaned. That charm was one of his most cherished possessions. Marinette, one of his first and closest friends, had trusted him with something precious to her, and he  _ lost it. _

“It really is-”

“The last time I saw it was on the subway,” he interrupted her. “God, it could be anywhere.” He put his head in his hands. He was such a horrible friend. 

“No, really- Wasn’t it Gorizilla’s akumatized object? Ladybug probably still has it.” She smiled at him encouragingly.

“It was?” He couldn’t remember what the akumatized item was. Actually, he didn’t think he saw it at all. Ladybug found and purified it by herself.

“Uh! Yeah! I mean, I saw him with it, so I just assumed...”

Adrien’s shoulders slumped.

“I don’t know the next time I’ll see Ladybug.” (Yes he did. Next Wednesday, on patrol. But he couldn’t ask her about it without giving himself away.) “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s really bothering you, isn’t it?” Marinette frowned, a small crease forming between her eyebrows.

“Of course. It was a gift from you.”

Marinette turned bright pink and began to sputter. She waved her hands wildly in front of her face.

“I- oh- uh- jeez- That is- I’m sure you’ll get it back soon.”

“I hope so.”

 

———

 

Adrien sighed, spread out on his back on the bed. He was still guilty over losing Marinette’s good luck charm. She said it was okay, but he couldn’t help but feel like a bad friend.

“Plagg, I’m such a jerk.”

“Hmm, yeah, probably,” Plagg said.

The kwami suddenly froze, then darted into the trash can.

“What-”

Three sharp raps came from the window. Adrien pushed himself up onto his elbows to get a better look. Just outside Ladybug hung from her yo-yo string. She waved at him sheepishly.

He scrambled out of his bed, almost tripping in his haste, and threw the window open. Ladybug swung in and landed gracefully on the wooden floor.

“I’m sorry to bother you so late at night,” she said, her cheeks pink.

“No, it’s, um, fine.” He rubbed his hands on his jeans. Oh god, were his palms sweaty?

“I have something of yours. I’ve been meaning to return it for a while.”

She produced a bracelet— Marinette’s lucky charm— and handed it to him. Adrien stared down at the colorful beaded object in his hands.

“Thank you, but how did you know it’s mine?”

“Oh! Erm- ah- that is- Uhhhhh... I knew it had to be  _ someone’s, _ right? And, uh, your bodyguard had it and I thought it probably wasn’t his because it’s kinda girly- not that I think you’re girly! I mean, you’re manly! And you’re probably secure in your manliness so you wouldn’t care if someone called you girly, so forget I said that-”

Ladybug’s face turned redder and redder. Adrien marveled at the sight. He’d never seen her so flustered before.

“-I suppose it could have been, like, your bodyguard’s daughter or something, if he has a daughter. Does he? Nevermind, not important. The important part is that I got it back to you. So, yeah! There it is.”

The look she gave him was half smile, half grimace.

“...Did Marinette tell you I lost this?”

“Marinette? Uh- I don’t know any Marinette! Who’s she? May-maybe I met her before but I never learned or name or something.” Ladybug laughed nervously, waving her hands in front of her in a vaguely familiar way.

It was a blatant lie. Adrien knew Ladybug rescued Marinette more than once, and when they fought Evillustrator she had even sent him a picture of the other girl, mentioning her by name, and asked him to guard her. So she definitely knew who Marinette was.

Even without all that, her behavior was a giveaway. How did someone so bad at lying manage to keep her identity secret for so long?

“Okay...” he said slowly. “I believe you.”

Ladybug let out a shrill ‘mm-hmm’ sound and rocked back on her heels.

He pocketed the charm. “Well, thank you for bringing it back to me. Somebody very precious gave me this.”

Ladybug’s face turned so red, it rivaled the color of her suit.

“Oh,” she said very softly. She shook her head. “I gotta go. I have homework to do, and you have to sleep, and- yeah, I gotta go.” She jumped up onto the windowsill. “I hope I see you soon, Adrien.”

She gave him a little wave and swung out into the night.

Adrien closed the window behind her and his hand lingered on the cool glass. That clinched it. Marinette and Ladybug  _ definitely _ knew each other.

  
  



	10. The Same, But Different

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day Ten: (Reverse) Balcony Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a reverse love square AU as well as a reverse balcony scene.

Adrien fiddled with the zipper on his jacket nervously. It felt strange to sneak out as himself and not as Cat Noir, but he wanted to remain at least semi-anonymous tonight. Between the beanie and his purloined jacket, hopefully nobody would recognize him.

Two chatting teenage girls passed him, and he ducked his head to the side, pretending to examine the display window next to him- only to be confronted with the black and gold leaf motif of the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. He didn’t realize he’d already walked that far.

It was closed, of course. All bakeries closed well before nightfall. 

He huffed a breath of annoyance. If only his father had let him go out earlier. He’d made plans with his friends for that afternoon to go to the movies, and Nino assured him that Marinette would be there.

But no, his father decided that his Mandarin was slipping and arranged for a last minute  lesson. He sulked through the entire thing and amused his tutor by making passive-aggressive statements in Chinese.

Marinette was probably resting in her room right now, or maybe up on her balcony tending to her plants. Adrien wished he had an excuse to knock on the door and go up, but he didn’t, and her parents might call his father.

He trudged past; the reminder of  _ another _ missed chance soured his mood. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of red from the top of a nearby roof.

Ladybug was leaning against the railing of the balcony, staring morosely into the night.

It pained him to see his partner so sad.

“Ladybug,” he whisper-yelled. “Over here!”

The spotted heroine started, then looked around. Adrien waved his arms to get her attention, and pushed his beanie back so she could get a better look at his face. Her mouth formed a surprised ‘o,’ then she smiled.

Ladybug hopped over the railing, landing next to him as easily as someone skipping down the stairs.

“Hey there. Adrien, was it? It’s been a while.”

He grinned back at his partner, his mood already lifted. It was great to see his best friend, even if she didn’t know who he was.

“It has, hasn’t it? Are you okay? You looked kinda sad up there.”

Ladybug’s face fell. “Well, it’s just... I was hoping to see Cat Noir tonight.”

A knot of guilt twisted in his stomach. “Oh?”

“Yeah, he goes out around this time a lot, and he likes to run this way. I wanted- well, maybe it’s better if I showed you.”

Ladybug offered her arm and Adrien took it. He looped his arms around her neck, and she scooped him up bridal style. Then, with one powerful leap, she jumped back up to the roof.

She set him down, and he gasped at the sight in front of him.

Spread out across the floor, on top of a solid blue blanket, was an assortment of pastries, fruit, and sandwiches. Red candles lined the balcony, and in the center of the blanket was some cutlery, a carafe of juice, and a small bouquet of roses in a vase.

“I wanted to surprise him- Cat Noir that is. I wanted to-” She rubbed her hand over her pink face with frustration. “I keep trying to tell him I’m in love with him, but I can never get it out. I hoped that... ugh, it’s stupid.”

Adrien choked. “You’re in love with Cat Noir?!”

...

_ He _ was Cat Noir.

“I thought I was obvious, but apparently not. Why do you think I always stutter and blush around him?”

“I thought you were just shy,” he said faintly. 

This changed everything. He rapidly thought back over all the times she tripped over her words (or her feet) around him. How the confidence she carried herself with during akuma battles would evaporate the moment the fight was over. Now that he knew, it made so much sense.

Ladybug plopped down on the blanket and pulled her knees up to her chest. “I probably would have chickened out anyway. I always do.”

How could he fix this? He couldn’t return her feelings, his heart belonged to Marinette, but he had to do something _... _

“It may not be what you planned, but we could eat together, if you want. As friends.”

She’d have her dinner with Cat Noir, even if she didn’t know it.

She smiled sweetly at him. “Thanks, Adrien. I’d love to have a friends-dinner with you.”

The two laughed and chatted over the food. The pastries, he noted, were from Tom and Sabine’s and he felt a little thrill at that. He wondered what it would be like to have a candlelit dinner with Marinette.

If not for his sweet, beautiful (kind, courageous, smart, stubborn— you get the idea) classmate, he might have fallen in love with Ladybug instead. He hoped someday soon she would move on from him and find someone who loved her as much as she deserved.

 


	11. Self-Restraint (part two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day Eleven: Onesided Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrien's at school the day after finding out Ladybug's identity. Now he just can't let anyone know he knows.
> 
>  
> 
> (A continuation of day one)

Adrien had everything under control.

He was handling this ‘act natural’ thing like a champ. He’d been awake all night worrying how he was going to get through today, but really he shouldn’t have.

All he had to do was get through the day without letting Marinette know that he knew that she was Ladybug, or that he knew she knew that he was her secret boyfriend who wasn’t supposed to know that she was secretly his secret girlfriend. Because if she knew he knew, she’d know that her secret boyfriend was also secretly her crime fighting partner, which she wasn’t supposed to know.

When had his love life become so complicated he needed a diagram to keep it straight?

“Bro are you okay?” Nino asked.

Adrien snapped out of his  panic thoughts.

“Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Nino raised his eyebrow. “You look kinda... green. And like you haven’t slept at all.”

“No, no, I’m fine.”

Nino didn’t look convinced.

Before he could say anything else, Marinette swept into the room, and the rest of the world ceased to exist.

There she was— his Lady,  _ Marinette _ . It was so obvious now. They had the same eyes, the same hair, the same way her hips swayed when she walked, the same scowl on her face.

The same melodious voice as she growled, “Alya, I know what you did.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Alya said with a smirk.

Marinette gritted her teeth. (Just like Ladybug did!)

“I’m talking about yesterday. With  _ Luka _ .”

Alya’s smirk widened. “Oh, yeah. Sorry about cancelling on you. How’d it go?”

“It’s funny how everyone else cancelled too-”

“What a coincidence.”

“-and Luka seemed to be under the impression it was a date.”

“You went on a date with Luka?” Adrien’s eyes darted between Marinette and Alya. Why would she do that? Was she... getting tired of him? No, it couldn’t be. Just last night she was going on about how much she loved him. (She loved him!)

Marinette started and looked at him with wide, panicked eyes. “N-no! I didn’t- Alya  _ tricked _ me!”

Adrien felt a stab of betrayal. Why would Alya try to sabotage him like that? He thought they were friends.

Alya crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “Don’t act so innocent, Adrien. You were in on it too.”

Oh, right. He had been. He remembered being so excited to set one of his best friends up with another good friend of his. Now he felt more like tripping Luka and watching him fall into the Seine, even though he knew it wasn’t the other boy’s fault at all. When did he become such a jerk?

“So.” Alya turned to Marinette. “How did it go?”

“He understood after I explained everything to him. Then we went out for coffee—  _ as friends _ — and talked about his music, my design, and that time I made an album cover for Jagged Stone.”

“That’s totally a date. Why don’t you date him?”

Marinette’s eyes darted to Adrien then away. “You know why,” she hissed.

“Girl, you already know-” Alya made a small gesture. Then in a quieter voice she said, “You gotta get over it.”

Oh. They were talking about him. A month ago he let it slip he had a girlfriend. When everyone eagerly interrogated him, he’d said it was a secret (true) because he didn’t want his father to know (also true) because he’d forbid it (very true). Now that he thought about it, Marinette acted cagey at the time, and he remembered Alya pulling her aside to quietly ask her if she was okay.

“W-well, I don’t want to-” Marinette made a gesture similar to Alya’s. “Until I can, you know-” She made another gesture.

“I think-” Adrien gulped as both of the girls turned to look at him. “I think Marinette should date whoever she wants. Sh-she shouldn’t be pressured into anything.

“Thank you, Adrien.” Marinette smiled.

Adrien blushed and looked away. He wasn’t ready for the full weight of Marinette’s attention.

Alya narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him.

“Fine. I won’t do it again,” she said in a tone that indicated she was totally going to do it again.

Adrien made a mental note to sabotage any future attempts at matchmaking, and spent the rest of class pretending to not know who Ladybug was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whimstories has been helping me a lot and I haven't given her the credit she deserves. She especially helped out with making that confusing paragraph at the beginning suitably convoluted. Check out her Tumblr [here,](https://whimstories.tumblr.com/) or read her fics [here.](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whimstories/pseuds/whimstories) (They're really good!)


	12. OTP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day twelve: Blushing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Ladybug learns of a new ship she is all about.

“Thank you so much,” the con-goer said, carefully sliding the autograph into a protective sleeve and then into his messenger bag.

“No problem.” Ladybug waved after him.

Another fan stepped forward to fill his place — a teenager around Ladybug and Cat’s age, maybe a year younger or older, wearing a purple hoodie with a pencil stuck through her ponytail. She clutched a sketchpad tightly to her chest.

“Um, hello,” she said.

Ladybug smiled encouragingly at the girl. “You’re here for an autograph?”

“Y-yeah.” She shifted from foot to foot, making no move to hand over her sketchbook. “I, uh, hoped you’d sign something I drew? Is that okay?”

“Of course,” Ladybug chirped in her best ‘don’t be intimidated’ voice, and held out her hand.

The girl stared at it. She pulled her sketchbook away from her chest, then hesitated. “Um- I’m- Oh, this is embarrassing. Maybe this was a bad idea.”

“It’s okay. Whatever it is, I won’t judge.”

Unless it was gorn or pedophilia. Oh please let it not be gorn or pedophilia.

“Alright, um.” The girl thrust her sketchbook into Ladybug’s hands. “I know it’s like- that there’s absolutely  _ nothing _ to back it up, and it’ll never happen or anything, but I just really ship you two. Please don’t be creeped out.”

Ladybug gaped down at the drawing in her hands. The drawing of her _and_ _Adrien_. Ladybug had one arm wrapped around Adrien’s waist, and her other hand held a yo-yo string that led to someplace off-page. They both were staring soulfully into each other’s eyes, their lips slightly parted. (In the back of her head Ladybug noted that the artist had exaggerated the height difference between them, _but that wasn’t important._ )

“I’m just, a really big Adrien fan, and I’m a big fan of you too. And I saw you rescue him a few times, and I thought it was really romantic and you’d be cute together, and- Oh god, you must think I’m crazy. I’ll just shut up now.”

“No, no,” Ladybug said breathlessly, transfixed by the image on the page. “It’s beautiful. You said you... ship us?”

The girl blinked owlishly at her. “Yeah! It’s- we call it ‘Ladrien.’ I say ‘we’ but really there are only, like, three of us.”

Ladybug traced the outline of Adrien’s face with her finger. “Do you post your art online?”

“Uh, yeah.” The girl looked somewhere between dumbfounded and ecstatic. “Here, let me...” She ripped a scrap of paper off one of the other pages and scribbled on it. “I’m on Tumblr and Instagram. Um, are you an Adrien fan too?”

“Oh yes. I love him. He’s so handsome, and kind, and cool...”

Both of the girls sighed dreamily.

Ladybug snapped out of it. “Oh, um, right. I better give you that autograph before the line gets any more backed up, haha.”

Ladybug wrote her signature on the corner of the paper with a shaking hand, then drew a heart over it. She handed the sketchbook back to the other girl, who looked like she might spontaneously combust from joy.

“Thank you so much, Ladybug.” She held it in her hands with all the reverence you would expect from someone holding the holy grail.

“Thank you too. I’ll be sure to look you up online.”

The girl beamed and practically skipped away.

Belatedly, Ladybug remembered her partner’s presence beside her. She whipped her head towards him to find him staring back, wide-eyed. The bright red blush on his face stood out against the black of his mask.

“What?” she snapped, fighting the urge to hide her face her hands.

“Nothing,” he squeaked. “I- just- nothing.”

Ladybug squirmed in her seat and tried to avoid Cat Noir’s eyes.

The rest of the signings passed in an awkward silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of the first ideas I got when I saw the prompts.
> 
>  
> 
> I'm almost caught up with the prompts I have written, and my writing speed has drastically slowed down due to outside factors. Hopefully I'll still be able to post everyday, but I'm not too optimistic.


	13. Soulmark AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day thirteen: AU (general)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which the names of special people in your life appear on your skin.

In the days following Adrien’s first day of school a veritable cornucopia of soulmarks bloomed across his skin: ‘Nino’ along his left pinky, ‘Alya’ in the crook of his arm, ‘Marinette’ along his wrist. A fluorescent green mark consisting of blocky lines and squares (Plagg’s name, according to the kwami) appeared under his left armpit. And over his heart ‘Ladybug’ was printed in red cursive. He loved to run his fingers over that particular mark.

Adrien had always been envious of other people’s soulmarks. He had so few by comparison. His parents’ names were on his left shoulder blade, one on top of the other, Chloe’s down his thumb... and that was it. His father insisted that as an Agreste he didn’t need many, but even he had more than Adrien did. (When Adrien was a younger he would crawl into his father’s lap and tug the collar of his father’s shirt down to see the ‘Emelie’ and ‘Adrien’ printed over his father’s heart. He hadn’t seen either of those marks in a long time.)

But by contrast his mother overflowed with soulmarks. Her parents, her husband, and her son were all there, naturally, but she had Chloe’s mom, Nathalie, her childhood friends, and one person Adrien had never met that his mother told him had been a rival when she swam competitively. Adrien wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen all of her marks.

Marinette’s many soulmarks reminded him of his mother’s. Her parent’s names were written in small black script on the back of her hand; Alya’s name was big and bold and red on her palm; ‘Nino’  was scrawled in orange on her left thumb. Names of her friends and family littered her limbs and abdomen. To Marinette’s horror, a giant, bold ‘Chloe’ covered most of her back right calf, and Adrien knew that Chloe had a matching ‘Marinette’ along her right forearm that she covered with tattoo concealer when she couldn’t get away with wearing long sleeves.

When Marinette’s shirt caught on her bag one day and pulled the collar down a bit, Adrien caught sight of the top of the letters of his own name over her heart and his own heart warmed. It still moved him every time he saw his name on someone else’s skin. Later, to Adrien’s confusion, Alya saw ‘Cat Noir’ printed bold and black on Marinette’s back just below the base of her neck and screamed loud enough to attract the whole class. While his classmates gasped and pestered Marinette over her mark, Adrien rubbed his fingers over his Ladybug soulmark, bewildered. As far as he knew nobody else had  _ both  _ of his names on their body.

He wondered, did Ladybug have ‘Adrien’ as well as ‘Cat Noir’ written on her skin? He hoped so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a _ton_ of background for this story.
> 
> Blind people's soulmarks are in braille, (raised scars instead of tattoos) the marks will change if the person changes their name, people in pre-literate societies have images that represent them rather than written names, etc.
> 
> Due to the magic of the miraculous, miraculous holders have two separate soulmark names. You also get the soulmark of your enemies, so Adrien has 'Hawkmoth' as well as 'Gabriel,' Marinette has 'Hawkmoth' but not 'Gabriel,' and Gabriel has both Ladybug and Cat Noir's soulmark.


	14. Ladrien vs Marichat (vs Adrienette vs Ladynoir)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day fourteen: reverse crush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Adrien learns of two new ships.

“Ladrien.” Alya brandished her phone in front of Adrien’s face with a smirk. 

Adrien groaned and slumped down onto his desk. He’d been dreading this ever since he saw the pictures.

“It’s not what it looks like.”

“Really?” Alya turned the phone around so the screen was facing her. “Because it looks like you getting real cosy with Ladybug. Holding each other tight, staring deeply into each other’s eyes...”

“She just rescued me. That’s all.”

“Rescuing usually doesn’t involve that much eyefucking. What do you think, Nino?”

Nino shot him a sympathetic look. “I think, uh...”

Adrien glared at his best friend from behind Alya’s back. He better not tell her about his crush. If Alya found out, then Marinette would find out, and Adrien just wasn’t ready for that yet.  _ Soon,  _ he thought, _ I’ll tell her soon. Just not right now _ .

God, he hoped Marinette hadn’t seen the photos, but there was little chance of that. She openly frequented the Ladyblog.

“... I think it’s just a trick of the light?” Nino finished.

“Yeah, sure.” Alya rolled her eyes. She tapped at her phone a few more times. “It’s trending on twitter. I wouldn’t go in the tag if I were you. The ship wars are already raging.”

“Hey guys. What are you talking about?” Marinette said cheerfully as she slid into her seat next to Alya.

“Ladrien.” Alya turned the phone towards her friend. Marinette took it and frowned down at the screen.

“It’s not true,” Adrien said hurriedly. “She was just rescuing me.”

“I believe you.”

Adrien heaved a sigh of relief. If Marinette thought he was involved with another girl, she’d never be interested in him. She was the type of person who respected other people’s relationships.

“Besides,” she continued, “everyone knows that Ladybug is in love with Cat Noir.”

Adrien didn’t want her to think that either! 

In a few years (but not  _ too _ many years) after  they dated for a while and were planning to take the next step together, he’d tell her he was Cat Noir. (After all, lies and secrets do not make a good foundation for marriage.) She’d gasp in wonder and he’d sweep her off her feet, reenacting ‘I can show you the world’ under the cover of the Parisian night. But if she thought that he had been two-timing her with Ladybug, she’d slap him, and break up with him, and go marry Nathaniel or something. (Ugh, Nathaniel. Adrien couldn’t believe that an  _ akuma _ managed to shore up enough bravery to ask Marinette out before he did.)

“I thought you’d be supportive,” Alya said. “It would free up Cat Noir for you. I know how you feel about our resident leather-clad catboy.”

_ Wait, what? _

“You have a crush on Cat Noir?” Adrien demanded.

Marinette turned bright red and started stuttering and stammering.

“I- what? That is- Of course- Why would-”

“Crush? Try all-consuming obsession. You should see her bedroom walls.” Alya said.

Marinette huffed and put her hands on her hips. “It’s not an obsession. It’s true love.”

“You... love him?” Hope swelled in Adrien’s chest and his heart beat faster.

Nino grimaced and patted him consolingly on the shoulder.

Adrien felt faint. This was real, right? This was actually happening? He bit the inside of his cheek. Okay, ow, yes this was happening.

“He’s so brave and kind and funny. He saved me a few times, and he was so sweet about it. I’d give anything for him to like me back.”

_ Yes! I love you too! Let’s date! _ Is what he didn’t say. Blurting out your secret identity in the middle of class was generally considered a no-no.

“Okay, reign it in, girl,” Alya said with a laugh.

“-and  _ god _ he looks hot in that leather-”

“Chill! We get it. Everyone here is team Marichat.” Alya smiled and shook her head exasperatedly.

Adrien had definitely converted to team Marichat. He barely noticed when Ms Bustier called the class to attention, his thoughts racing through possibilities. Maybe he could meet her on her balcony...? What excuse could he give her? Stopping by for treats? Just checking in on his favorite civilian?

He couldn’t have told anyone what they studied in school that day, and he got detention for daydreaming in physics. But that was okay; Marinette  _ liked _ him.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though I use "Cat Noir" instead of "Chat Noir" I kept it as "Marichat" not "Maricat" because I feel it would be too strange to see it spelled differently than it normally is.
> 
>  
> 
> \- Adrien ships Adrienette and Marichat.  
> \- Marinette ships Marichat and Ladynoir.  
> \- Alya ships Marichat and Ladrien.  
> \- Nino is loyal to his bro and only ships Adrienette.


	15. Either Way, You Lose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day fifteen: trust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one. I'm not sure if I like how it came out.
> 
>  
> 
> (Can you believe we're already half way done?)

Adrien swallowed the lump in his throat. He met his Lady’s blue, sincere eyes. Those eyes that meant so much to him.

But there was just too much on the line. He didn’t want what she told him to be true. If it was true... then that was it. It would be over.

He bit his nail, his breath ragged. His eyes darted around his bedroom, avoiding Ladybug, landing on the computer, then the foosball table they had used to fight his father— the Collector. But he couldn’t help himself, he always came back to her.

She stared back at him innocently, her expression unfathomable.

“Adrien...” she said. She spoke softly but impatience tinged her voice.

“I think,” he said, “I think you’re lying.”

Ladybug regarded him for a moment, then her lips curled into an evil smirk.

She flipped over her card.

“Assassin,” she said, and cackled.

“No!”

“I win again, handsome boy.”

Adrien threw himself back against his couch and pouted. “I should’ve lied and tried to block it.” 

Ladybug gathered up the cards in front of them and shuffled them back into the deck.

“I would’ve called you out anyway.”

She’d still had both of her cards, and he’d only had one of his left. He would have lost no matter what he did.

“How are you so good at this game? You’re usually so bad at lying.”

Ladybug shrugged her shoulders. “When it comes to games like this, lying and cheating just come naturally.”

“There is no glory in lying,” Adrien said as sanctimoniously as he could as a regular liar who was in fact lying about who he was right now.

“You don’t play Coup for glory; you play to  _ win _ .”

Adrien crossed his arms and mumbled something about how he thought Ladybug hated liars. This was so unfair. She always knew when he was bluffing.  _ Always _ .

She tapped the deck of cards, waggling her eyebrows playfully. “Play again, handsome boy? Maybe you’ll finally win this time.”

He gritted his teeth. “I’m in.”

 


	16. Cinematic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day sixteen: goodbye kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could a relationship between a superhero and a civilian ever last?

“I’m so sorry,” Ladybug said, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes.

“Shh, it’s okay.” Adrien wiped them away with the pad of his thumb, then let his fingers trail from her cheek to her shoulder, down her arm and across the back of her hand before pulling away.

“I’m just- I can’t-” She bit her lip and looked away. The low light coming from his apartment window cast shadows across her face. “We can’t be together.”

Adrien gently turned her face towards him. She closed her eyes to avoid his.

“I know. I understand.”

“Hawkmoth’s already targeted you, and even after Cat Noir and I defeat him there’s no future for us. You can’t marry  _ Ladybug _ .”

He embraced her, and her tears wetted his shirt. For a moment they stood like that, the only noises the faint sounds of the city at night and Ladybug’s muffled sobs. Adrien worked his jaw, his eyes turning red, desperately trying to hold back his own tears.

“I knew,” he said hoarsely. “I knew when we started this there was a time limit. That it couldn’t last forever.” He sucked in a ragged breath. “But somewhere in there I forgot, or maybe I just refused to accept it. It hurts.” He hugged her tighter and she let out another sob. “But I’d rather have only a short time with you than nothing at all. Nobody can take away the moments we had together, and I’ll cherish them forever.”

Ladybug pulled back and looked up at him; her hands came up to caress his face.

“Oh Adrien,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. She tried to say more, but nothing came. She shook her head.

“Just... before you go, can you kiss me? One last time?”

Ladybug surged up on her toes and caught his lips with hers. They kissed passionately, all teeth and heat, then slowly, with soft, lingering caresses, as if they drew it out long enough it would never end.

Reluctantly, they pulled apart. They rested their foreheads against one another’s, their faces flushed and wet.

Finally they had to let go. Ladybug squared her shoulders and walked out onto the apartment’s balcony. She threw her yo-yo, but before she left she turned back to Adrien one last time.

“I love you,” she said in a wavering voice, “and I’ll never forget you.”

Adrien pressed his trembling lips together and nodded. He didn’t trust himself to speak. 

With one final lingering look, Ladybug swung off into the night, leaving the man she loved behind. Across the rooftops, across the streets of Paris, she fled to the one place she always seemed to return to: the Eiffel Tower.

She swung up to the uppermost level, on top of the observation deck. Cat Noir waited for her there. His eyes were heavy with sympathy. She sat next to him, her head bowed, and he placed his hand on hers.

 

Roll credits.

  
  


“Daddy, did you really date Ladybug like you did in the movie?”

Adrien ruffled his older daughter’s brown hair. “That’s right, I did.”

She batted his hand away. “Did you love her?”

“Very much so.”

“But you love Mommy more, right?” his younger daughter asked, staring up at him with anxious blue eyes.

“Your mother is the love of my life,” he said carefully. “I would never pick anyone over her.”

Adrien glanced over to Marinette on the other side of the couch, and she shot him a wry look in return. She petted the fine hair of their young son, asleep with his head in her lap. He really was still too young for such a long movie, but he insisted he wanted to stay up with his sisters and watch it too.

Their older daughter hummed. “I think Ladybug is cooler than mommy.”

Marinette let out a bark of involuntary laughter.

“Gee, thanks.”

Adrien tried his best to hide his smirk, but the expression on Marinette’s face told him he was only partially successful.

“Sorry Mommy, but Ladybug’s a superhero and you’re not.”

“How do you know that? Maybe I sneak out at night to fight crime.”

Their daughter wore the doubtful face of somebody who couldn’t imagine their parents doing anything cool in their lives.

“I think you’re the coolest, Mommy,” their younger daughter said loyally.

“Suck up,” her sister muttered under her breath.

The ensuing shoving match woke their brother and ended with both of them grounded for the rest of the weekend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you didn't catch on: Ladybug and Adrien had a secret relationship in this universe that was publicly exposed. When they made the movie(s), they decided to put a heavy emphasis on their relationship.
> 
> Eventually, of course, they had to "break up" because otherwise Marinette's identity would be exposed if they wanted to marry or have kids.


	17. Sweet Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day seventeen: aged up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is somewhat NSFW. There is no actual sexual content, but there is plenty of nudity, discussion of sex, and it is abundantly clear that sex happened off page.
> 
> I still wouldn't read it at work. Or in front of kids. I had to lock the door because my daughter kept barging in while I was writing this.
> 
> Let me know if you think this is enough to bump the rating.

Cat Noir backflipped away from Foursight’s blow. The akuma lunged and swiped at him again, but hit only air. Cat smirked at his frustrated scowl.

“Gotta be faster than that.” He easily danced out of range again.

“Why do you keep dodging?” Foursight said. “You’ve made all the right choices. It’s a dream that awaits you, not a nightmare.”

“Nah, I’m not really feeling up for a cat nap right now.”

Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he extended his baton to deftly vault away from the akuma and towards his partner. He landed on the roof next to her and gave her a smile and a wink.

“Ladybug!” Foursight shouted at them. “Your future holds a sweet dream. Come down here and let me show you it.”

“No, thank you. If I take a nap now I won’t be able to get to sleep tonight,” she called down to him. To Cat Noir she said, “What are we dealing with today?”

“Chloe Bourgeois’s work-”

“Of course.”

“-he’s mad that she never thinks of the consequences of her actions.”

“The consequences being something like an akuma, perhaps?”

“Too right, my Lady. Everyone he touch falls asleep.” Cat Noir gestured at the unconscious bodies sprawled across the grass. “Dreaming of their future, I guess. Don’t get hit.”

“Shouldn’t I say that to you?” Ladybug winked at him and flicked the bell around his neck. “Follow my lead and hopefully we’ll be done before lunch is over.”

They launched into battle, weaving and dodging in synchronization.

Unfortunately, not even five minutes in, Chloe materialized out of the air like the she-demon she was and latched onto Ladybug, screeching for help.

Cat Noir took only a moment to register Foursight’s hand descending towards Ladybug’s distracted form, before he threw himself between them and tackled the akuma away. The touch meant for Ladybug hit Cat’s wrist instead.

 

* * *

Adrien woke in his bedroom.

He groggily blinked the sleep out of his eyes. Wasn’t he just fighting an akuma? Was that a dream? Or did he blackout, forget defeating it, and head home to sleep?

He stretched, and his soft sheets slid along his naked body. That was odd. He normally didn’t sleep in the nude. It was summer— maybe he got hot and took them off while he was asleep.

Something moved next to him, something bigger than a kwami, and Adrien suddenly became very, very aware of a body in the bed with him.

He froze, eyes fixed on the ceiling, his heart pounding in his chest. Okay, somehow someone snuck into his bed. Or maybe he went into some sort of fugue state and stripped naked and crawled into someone else’s bed? No, that was definitely his ceiling.

Whoever it was next to him shifted some more, then settled with a soft, feminine sigh. Slowly, ever so slowly, Adrien turned his head to look at her.

He nearly jumped out of his bed at the sight that greeted him.

A woman, and it was definitely a woman, not a girl, lay next to him. She had shiny black hair and wore a red domino mask that was slightly askew. He’d bet his entire video game collection that those closed eyes were blue. Though her cheeks had lost some of their roundness and her jawline was sharper, she was unmistakably Ladybug.

Ladybug. Laying next to him. Detransformed. One arm over her head, the other resting on her stomach. Ladybug.  _ Shirtless. _

Maybe she wasn’t shirtless! Her shoulders were bare, but the sheets covered her breasts. Maybe she was wearing a tube top, or a strapless bra.

Probably not.

Adrien wasn’t sure if he could handle a naked Ladybug in his bed. Oh sure, he’d thought about it before (in detail). He wasn’t some sort of innocent child who’d never even heard of sex before, despite what his father and Nathalie seemed to think. (He’d once heard Nathalie tell the maid that Adrien was too young to have  _ those kinds _ of thoughts. He was fifteen at the time. At least the maid looked at Nathalie like she was crazy.)

He was a perfectly healthy sixteen year old boy with a scorching hot partner who ran around in skin tight red spandex. He knew what sex was.

But he had somehow never seriously contemplated what he’d do if Ladybug actually wound up in his bed.

As if sensing his thoughts, his Lady’s eyes fluttered open, and now Adrien had an  _ awake, _ naked Ladybug in his bed.

She gave him a radiant grin that would have knocked him off his feet had he been standing.

“Good morning handsome,” she said in a rough, husky voice that  _ did things _ to him.

“Hi,” he croaked.

Ladybug stretched, and the covers came dangerously close to exposing things that he wasn’t prepared to see yet.

She hummed deep in her throat, then pressed the entire length of her body against him. All of his weak attempts at self-delusion flew out of his head. She was definitely naked.

He squeaked.

“Is something wrong?” Ladybug rubbed her head against his shoulder and trailed her hand across his chest.

Adrien launched himself out of the bed.

Ladybug looked at him with confusion. She propped herself up on her elbow, and the sheets slid down her body. He averted his eyes before he could catch sight of anything.

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” he said shrilly.

Belatedly he realized he was on full display. He squeaked again, slapped his hands over his privates, and bolted for the bathroom.

He slammed the door behind him and leaned against it. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of himself in the mirror.

He was older. Unequivocally so. His sleep-mussed hair was longer, his shoulders were broader, his muscles more defined. His facial features had sharpened, and there was the beginning of light stubble on his chin. He had to be at least eighteen. Probably not much older than that if he was still living at home.

How on earth had this happened? Did he somehow come down with retrograde amnesia and forget the last few years? (That apparently included sexytime with Ladybug, jesus christ.) Or had he somehow time traveled into the fut-

The akuma. He had been fighting an akuma with the ability to send people dreams of their future. At least he hoped this was a dream of his future, and not some wishful fantasy his mind had conjured up.

Ladybug knocked on the door.

“Adrien?” she said. “I have to get going before my parents realize I’m gone.”

“Okay, I’ll, uh, see you later?”

“I’ll come by tomorrow if I have time, okay? Feel better.”

Adrien winced. Great. She probably thought he had diarrhea or something. Hopefully this really was just a dream of the future, and he wasn’t currently occupying his future self’s body and humiliating him.

“I love you,” she said softly.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. That was his greatest dream, to hear those words.

“I love you, too,” he said. He’d never been more honest.

He heard her say ‘spots on’ then her footsteps leading away. He slid down the bathroom door. Hopefully his Ladybug, the younger Ladybug, purified the akuma soon.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've actually seen someone, on this very site, insist that a fifteen year old would have no idea what sex even is. You'd think they'd know better. 
> 
> It's not the first time I've seen the way of thinking where teenagers are completely pure, innocent souls who are all hand holding and blushing and absolutely no suggestive thoughts at all until they turn 18 and immediately become sexpots. It's weird.


	18. Ladybug and Marinette Are BFFs part three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day eighteen: Valentine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrien confronts Marinette and tells her he knows her secret.

“I know,” Adrien said once he managed to corner Marinette in the quiet hallway. He turned his head to check each way to make sure they were alone. “I know about-” He made a hand gesture then whispered, “Ladybug.”

Marinette turned pure white. Every drop of blood fled her face, even her lips were white, and the blue of her eyes stood out shockingly against the lack of color. She swayed on her feet.

“You know that I’m- that I’m-” she said hoarsely.

“Yes.” Adrien looked away. This was harder than he’d thought it’d be. “I know that you’re friends with Ladybug, and that maybe you know who she is?”

He glanced back at her. Color had returned to her face, her jaw dropped wide open. Her eyebrows furrowed so deeply they looked like they had fused into one, and she stared incredulously at him from under them.

Marinette grabbed him and shoved him into the nearest room.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng! Mr Agreste!” Ms Mendeleiev squawked, nearly knocking over the coffee cup on her desk. “What is the meaning of this? I am trying to grade papers- Hey!”

Marinette hauled him back out of the room and slammed the door behind them.

The next room she checked before dragging him into it. She locked the door then spun around to lean faux-casually against it.

“So you found me out!” she said shrilly, grinning forcefully. “I’m friends with Ladybug! That’s right! That’s my secret! Uh, how did you find out?”

Adrien nodded. He knew it.

“Well, don’t be too mad at her, but Manon— Ladybug had me watch her after an akuma got you— told me that you two were friends. I didn’t completely believe her right away, because she’s five, but then a few days ago after I told you I lost your lucky charm, Ladybug showed up at my house that very night. You told her I lost it, didn’t you?”

Marinette just stared at him for a moment with that manic grin on her face, then muttered a ‘goddammit’ under her breath.

“That’s exactly what happened,” she said.

It just burst out of him after that.

“So you  _ do _ know her! What’s she like? How did you find out? Did she tell you?” He felt a little pang of hurt at the idea that his Lady would choose to tell someone else, no matter how close they may be, her identity before she chose to tell him. But maybe she had to.

“No!” Marinette shouted. “I mean, no. Ladybug hasn’t told anyone who she is. I- uh, I was there when she got her miraculous.”

Adrien was practically bouncing with energy. She  _ knew _ Ladybug! She knew what Ladybug was like outside the mask. Adrien got to see his Lady all the time, but he felt strangely like this was the closest he’s ever come to her.

“What’s she like?” he said in a rush. “Is she cool?”

Marinette looked him dead in the eyes. “She’s super cool.”

Adrien suppressed his fanboy squeal the best he could, which, judging by Marinette’s amused expression, wasn’t very well.

“What does she do for fun? What’s her favorite color? Can you tell me what she likes to eat? When-”

“Whoa!” Marinette held her hands up in a ‘stop’ gesture. “I can’t tell you anything that would risk her identity. All I can tell you is that she’s cool. And pretty. You’d like her. Actually, you should date.”

She stopped there, frozen, and turned bright pink.

“Date?” Adrien breathed.

“Eheh, that is-”

“I’d love to date her. Do you think she’d want to date me?”

Marinette’s jaw dropped and she blinked a few times before recovering.

“Yes! I mean, just the other day she said ‘Marinette, I’d date that Adrien boy if he wanted me to.’ She said those exact words. So.”

A goofy grin spread across his face.  _ Dating Ladybug... _ The idea sent shivers through his body. This was his chance. He nodded determinedly.

“Marinette, do you think you could...? I mean, Valentine’s Day is coming up...”

“Yes! Absolutely! I’d love to! Set you up with Ladybug, I mean. I’d love to set you up with Ladybug.” Marinette laughed nervously.

Adrien lit up. “Thank you so much Marinette. You’re such a good friend.”

“Good friend, right, yeah... W-well, let me give you my phone number and I can send you the details.”

Adrien gleefully plugged her number into his phone. He spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between grilling Marinette for what she thought would be the perfect gifts and dates for Ladybug (she was very accommodating) and walking on air. Valentine’s Day this year was going to be  _ perfect _ .

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last part of this mini-series is coming on day twenty.


	19. Gabrel Didn't Need to Know That

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day nineteen: confession

“You exposed a secret of mine— Now I’ll expose one of yours!”

The akuma waved its arm and a beam of yellow light hurtled towards a young, brown haired man running desperately away. He tried to dodge, but the beam hit him.

“I think my girlfriend’s sister is hotter than she is!”

A girl popped up from where she had been hiding behind a nearby car. 

“What?!” she squawked angrily.

The akuma sent a beam at her and she dropped back down with an ‘eeep’.

“Sorry, babe!” the man yelled.

The akuma spotted Adrien and an evil grin spread across its face.

_ Shit _ . This was it. There was nowhere to hide, no way to dodge. The akuma would hit him and he’d publicly declare his secret identity to the world and everything would be ruined.

Just as the akuma shot a blast at him, he heard someone call his name.

Adrien turned his head in the direction of the  voice and saw Ladybug barreling towards him, her face set with determination, yo-yo at the ready in her hand. She wound her arm to throw it, undoubtedly to lasso him and yank him away, but she was too late.

The last thing Adrien saw before the light hit him was Ladybug’s face. So the first secret that came to his mind wasn’t ‘I’m Cat Noir’ but instead:

“I think about Ladybug when I masturbate!”

Ladybug screeched to a halt.

She gaped at him, her eyes wider than he’d ever seen them, her yo-yo forgotten in her hand. Her face turned bright red, darker than even her suit.

Adrien felt his own face burn hot, and he had no doubt it rivaled the shade of his Lady’s blush.

“Oh, wow, that’s embarrassing. I’m just gonna, um, leave,” the akuma said. It slunk away, leaving the two mortified teenagers behind.

“Haaa...” Adrien said.

Ladybug gurgled something incomprehensible.

Well, it was time to fake his death and move to Nepal to become a goat herder. Sure, he didn’t know the first thing about goat herding, or goats in general, and he didn’t speak Nepalese, so he had quite the struggle ahead of him, but it beat being ‘That Guy Who Masturbates To Ladybug.’

He doubted he was the only one who did so, but he was probably the only one to loudly declare it to her face.

Ladybug made a croaking noise.

“Akuma,” she gasped, looking somewhere over his shoulder. “I gotta go... fight the akuma.”

“Yeah. It’s a dangerous one,” Adrien squeaked.

Ladybug nodded solemnly with a thousand yard stare. “Yes. Yes it is.”

She took a step in the direction the akuma went, but her foot caught on the back of the other one and she fell face first to the ground.

She lay there for a long moment.

“I’m okay,” she said in a muffled voice.

She didn’t get up.

“Uh, do you need, uh, help?” Adrien said. He was surprised his voice worked.

“No, I got it.” Ladybug climbed to her feet, pointedly not looking at Adrien.

She threw her yo-yo, missing once before hitting her mark. She tugged on the string.

“Bye,” she squeaked, and swung away. She barely avoided smacking into a building, and scrambled to keep herself from falling off the roof she landed on.

Adrien watched her go, his face stained red, probably permanently.

Wait. There were  _ civilians _ in the street.

He whipped his head around. A small crowd stared back at him, slack jawed. One of them held a cell phone in their hand. 

_ Great. _

 

* * *

Meanwhile, not too far away, in a stereotypical villain lair, Hawkmoth stood frozen, his face a mask of horror.

That was it for today. Ladybug could keep her earrings for another day. He didn’t care. He was done. Time to detransform, drink a lot of wine, and try to scrub that image from his brain.

God, how was he going to look at Adrien tomorrow?

  
  



	20. Ladybug and Marinette Are BFFs part four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day twenty: secret admirer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final part in the "Ladybug and Marinette Are BFFs" mini-series. I hope you enjoyed the ride.
> 
> I'm VERY close to being caught up with what I have written so far, so updates may slow. I managed to post one chapter every day for twenty days which is honestly way better than I thought I'd do.

Of course Adrien left his book in his locker. He only needed it for his French literature project due tomorrow. The project that sat on his computer with exactly one paragraph finished. That project.

His footsteps echoed loudly in the empty halls. It always felt weird to walk through the school after everyone went home. He was hyper aware he wasn’t supposed to be there.

Adrien wasn’t usually the type of person to procrastinate. He liked to get things done ahead of time, but the akuma attacks had cut into his free time, and there was fencing and photoshoots...

Ah, he wasn’t fooling himself. The real reason he’d neglected his homework was because Ladybug kept visiting. He couldn’t turn her away when she came knocking on his window, and between reading The Count of Monte Cristo and spending time with Ladybug, well... it wasn’t hard to choose.

He hoped Ladybug’s grades weren’t suffering because of her near nightly visits.

A dopey grin spread across Adrien’s face at the memories of last night. Ladybug showed up a little later than she normally did, wearing a mischievous smile.

“Hello, handsome boy,” she purred. “Have a good day?”

“Very good. I received another mysterious gift today.” Adrien plucked a pink rose shaped marzipan treat out of the box he’d found in his locker that morning and popped it in his mouth. “It was signed with only a heart. I wonder who it was from?”

“Could be anyone~” Ladybug looped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him.

Adrien leaned down and kissed her. When he pulled away she licked her lips.

“Delicious.”

“I think so, too,” he said. “My friends all think I have a secret admirer.”

“I’m sure you have many. There are plenty of men and women in Paris with excellent taste.”

He kissed her again, longer and slower this time.

“I really liked the gift,” he whispered after they parted.

“I’m glad. It’s nice to get things you like. Whoever made those must be very talented.”

“I’m sure she is— at a great many things.”

“Are you so sure they’re a girl?”

Adrien squeezed her body to him. “Positive.”

She giggled. They split the treats and traded kisses well into the night, and absolutely none of the work on his project got done.

A loud, feminine voice reverberated through the hallways and shook him out of his reverie.

“Of all the times to actually remember to sign... ugh!”

He recognized that voice. It was Marinette.

Adrien crept over to the locker room where her voice was coming from, and quietly opened the door and peered inside.

Marinette stood in front of his locker with an anxious expression on her face. Something small floated up out of her bag. It was a red being with black dots— a kwami.

There were only two people (wait, no, four including Hawkmoth and the guardian, both of whom were adult men) in Paris with a kwami. Him and Ladybug.

The kwami tutted. “Such carelessness.”

She phased into his locker; there was a click of the lock and the door swung open. The kwami flew back out and Marinette sighed in relief.

“Thank you, Tikki.” She reached into his locker and pulled out a small box in blue wrapping paper. “Now I just need to-”

That’s when she noticed Adrien.

“Oh- um- hey- I was just- uhhh-”

“Is that a kwami?”

She froze, staring at him wide eyed. The kwami darted back into her bag.

“...No?”

“Marinette,” he breathed, “You’re Ladybug.”

“What? Pfft. No. I’m not Ladybug. That doesn’t make any sense. I can’t be Ladybug because...” She struggled for a moment. “I’m not Ladybug.”

“You are! You are Ladybug!” Adrien laughed with joy.

“No!”

“Oh my god... You  _ wingmanned _ yourself. That’s hilarious.”

“I’m not Ladybug.”

He looked down at the present in her hands. It was signed  _ Marinette _ in neat, gold script. She looked down to see what he was looking at and meeped.

“You called yourself ‘super cool.’”

“Okay, can we stop with the pick-on-Marinette thing?”

“Nope. I’m never going to let you live this down.” He hesitantly reached out and cradled her hands in his. “I’m sorry that I found out your identity like this. But I’m glad I know. Now we can openly date.”

Marinette blushed and smiled shyly. “I’d like that.”

Adrien leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. He savored the warm silence for a long moment.

“Hey Adrien?”

“Yeah?”

“...How do you know what what a kwami is?”

“Um. I know Cat Noir?”

She didn’t buy it.

 

* * *

 

**BONUS ALTERNATE ENDING:**

Marinette stood in front of his locker with an anxious expression on her face. Something small floated up out of her bag. A red being with black dots. A kwami.

There were only two people (wait, no, four including Hawkmoth and the guardian, both of whom were adult men) in Paris with a kwami. Him and Ladybug.

This could only mean one thing.

Ladybug lent Marinette her kwami. She must  _ really _ trust her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you see how smooth those idiots were in the flashback? There's hope for them yet.


	21. Ladybug Spots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day twenty one: Matching colors or outfits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are now officially caught up with how much I have written ahead of time. I'm going to try to have the next chapter done by tomorrow, but we shall see.

Adrienne literally skipped down the sidewalk. With every step she felt like she was going to lift off the ground. Even the presence of her hulking bodyguard trailing behind her couldn’t get her down.

She’d managed to convince one of her mother’s designers, a no-nonsense woman that Gabrielle respected and couldn’t afford to fire, to make her a red and black polka dot rockabilly sundress. And she got to wear flats! The comfortable kind that actually felt like reinforced ballet slippers. Except for when she was fencing she was only ever allowed to wear pumps or kitten heels. (Haha, kitten heels)

It was thrilling to wear Ladybeetle’s colors.

Ah, Ladybeetle. Adrienne sighed at the thought of her partner. So handsome and brave and chivalrous. She hadn’t realized how...  _ objectified _ she felt, like a walking advertisement, not a person, until she met him. She was the image of the Gabrielle brand and she couldn’t afford to offend anyone, no matter how they treated her. Her friends at school were great about that too; Marin and Alain were always indignant on her behalf when someone said something suggestive or implied that she owed them her time and affection.

But Ladybeetle— he made her feel like she could do anything.

Sometimes Adrienne wished that Ladybeetle’s eyes would wander, she was a teenage girl with a crush after all, but no matter how she put herself on display, Ladybeetle would flick the bell around her neck and tease her for being a flirt, his gaze never leaving her face.

Adrienne twirled, enjoying the feeling of her skirt swishing around her legs.

Just at that moment, Ladybeetle swung by. A bubble of joy rose in her chest. He caught sight of her, and Adrienne gave him a little wave.

Ladybeetle crashed into a nearby building.

Adrienne gasped and ran over to him. She bent over his supine form.

“Are you alright?”

His face turned bright red.

“Yeah,” he said hoarsely. His eyes flickered over her body. “You’re fine-  _ I mean, _ I’m totally fine.”

Oh.

Adrienne could work with this.

She cocked her head to the side and slowly blinked in the way she knew boys liked. Ladybeetle’s eyes flicked back down then away. His blush deepened.

“You certainly are fine, aren’t you?” she said.

Ladybeetle gurgled something in response. 

Adrienne grinned.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: We've got another piece of [fanart](http://art-of-zirio.tumblr.com/post/175180704667/dealing-with-a-lot-right-now-so-when) by ZiriO!


	22. Lit Papers and Loved Ones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day twenty two: Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not very good at this fluff thing.
> 
>  
> 
> (Yay! I got it done in time!)

Adrien blinked slowly at his computer monitor in a vain attempt to clear his head. Every time he tried to focus on what he was writing, his brain got all fuzzy and his thoughts filled with static. His eyes burned from the strain. Maybe he should buy some of those blue light glasses.

He squinted.

_Jules Verne’s writing widely impacted global literature, especially the genre of science fiction. Even today, many works are heavily influenced, either directly or indirectly, by the concepts and tropes introduced in his stories. A specific example is_

...What was the specific example he was going to give? Some comic? Or was it a movie? Adrien was pretty sure that there were a couple relatively recent comics and movies based off Verne’s books.

Which books did Verne write again?

Adrien would have worked on this in study hall, but an akuma just had to attack, because apparently the world was conspiring against him. Technically the paper was due next week, but he had a date with Ladybug tomorrow, then he planned to meet up with Nino, Alya, and Marinette over the weekend to check out the new arcade. Between his extracurriculars and photoshoots and his homework for other classes, he wouldn’t have much time to work on it. Also he would like to sleep at some point.

He barely registered the faint thump from behind him.

“Doesn’t it get cold in here?”

After an embarrassingly long moment, Adrien turned around to face the speaker.

“Heeeyyy Ladybug,” he said. Was he dizzy? Adrien was pretty sure he was dizzy. “What’s up?”

Ladybug’s eyebrow shot up. She jerked her thumb towards the window behind her. “You left your window open. Are you okay?”

Yes, his window... Why had he left his window open again? Oh yeah. “I left it open for you. Just in case, you know...” After a beat he said, “I’m fine.”

Ladybug didn’t look convinced. She walked over to get a view of what he was doing. “Your literature paper? No wonder you’re so out of it. Isn’t that due next week? I mean! You said that was due next week, the last time we talked.”

Did he? Adrien couldn’t remember. He’d take her word for it.

“I gotta get it done now. Too busy. I’m writing about, um, Jules Verne? He’s important because... he wrote important things. Things like...” Adrien reached for the information but all he found was static. “...stuff. I don’t remember.”

Ladybug nodded, smiling with a sort of amused indulgence.

“Right. You need a break.”

“Nooo...”

“Too late.” She swept him up out of his seat into a princess carry. “Don’t worry brave citizen. I will rescue you from that dastardly lit paper.”

She dumped him on the couch and booted up his video game console. He sluggishly took the controller.

After five rounds in a row of being completely obliterated in Mecha Strike, worse than he normally was, Ladybug switched the game off.

“Okay, clearly this isn’t working. Lay down.”

She pulled him so he was resting his head in her lap. She began to slowly run her fingers through his hair, scratching gently at his scalp. Her fingers caressed his face and softly rubbed delicate circles along his hairline, down past his temples and along his jaw.

Adrien’s head still pounded painfully, but he felt his muscles one by one begin to relax, and his jaw unclenched.

Ladybug started to hum a low, soothing melody. The sound washed over him and lulled him into a restful not-awake-but-not-asleep state.

He loved this girl, and though she never said it, he was pretty sure she loved him, too.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a hell of a fight. I wrote it yesterday and edited it this morning, so it's a bit rushed.


	23. #Ladrien

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 23: Celebrity power couple

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a nightmare! Which is a pity because I was really looking forward to writing it. I eventually just gave up on the formatting, so just pretend it looks like a tumblr dashboard. No, really, it's a mess.
> 
> Several people on tumblr gave me permission to use their username. Please keep in mind that I took absolutely no care to correctly portray their personalities. I wrote the fic then went back and put in names.
> 
> [aafanbug](https://aafanbug.tumblr.com/) [lilith-of-the-netherwood,](https://lilith-of-netherwood.tumblr.com/) and ZiriA is a variation of [ZiriO,](http://art-of-zirio.tumblr.com/) my favorite commenter. ;)
> 
> The fic within a fic was actually written by [whimstories.](https://whimstories.tumblr.com/) Who betas all my work and cheers me on. She's written some really great stuff so go check her out. Link to her AO3 profile [here.](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whimstories)
> 
> All other usernames I made up, so if any of them are actually in use it's a coincidence. (Well, except for mine, of course)

**imclassynoreally reblogged from letspickle**

* * *

 

**redpenguin20**

 

[omfg ladybug and adrien kiss.png]

Ho ly shit

* * *

 

**i-am-thou-thou-art-i**

 

AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaAAAAAa

* * *

 

**i-am-thou-thou-art-i**

 

On one hand: this sinks Ladynoir. On the other hand: they’re really hot.

* * *

 

**literaldudbear**

 

do you guys remember that one girl who shipped these too and we all thought she was delusional? our bad.

* * *

 

**claire-de-la-lune**

 

@Art_Of_Jessica

* * *

 

**Art_Of_Jessica**

 

When your crackship becomes canon:

[longest ever ‘yeah boi’]

* * *

 

**Art_Of_Jessica**

 

@claire-de-la-lune

Did I ever tell you about the time that Ladybug signed my Ladrien fan art? Because she did.

* * *

 

**claire-de-la-lune**

 

@Art_Of_Jessica

Yes. Many times.

* * *

**Art_Of_Jessica**  

 

Well I’m going to do it again

LADYBUG SIGNED MY LADRIEN FANART AHHHHHHHH

 

[ladybug ships it.jpeg]

 

#omg  #ladybug  #ladrien #adrien agreste  #i ship it? #lol i had no idea who this guy was before today

  
  
  


**sacchariwrites reblogged imclassynoreally**

* * *

 

**bluewolfgirl**

 

I’m... not sure how I feel about this.

* * *

 

**mydeerheart**

 

Ladybug cheated on Cat Noir.

She’s a two timer.

Period.

* * *

 

**letspickle**

 

Ok let’s keep this mature (I say as people obsess over the love life of teenagers they don’t know).

 

Ladybug and Cat Noir have said multiple times they are not in a relationship. Source source and another goddamn source. I know that a lot of people think they’re lying or that a relationship between them is inevitable because of ‘the way they look at each other UwU’ These people will spend HOURS of their time combing over every interaction for the slightest thing they then hold up as ironclad proof, and if anyone dare disagree they rain hell down upon them like we killed their dog or something.

 

Just because you ship it doesn’t make it “canon”. (Also: jesus, these are real people, not characters from a tv show. There’s no “canon” when it comes to real life.) Screaming, insulting, and passive aggressive statements will not make Ladybug and Cat Noir date.

 

Let’s not harass Ladybug or Adrien. Or Cat Noir for that matter. They’re just two teenagers who would like to kiss without their pictures spread all over the place and half of the internet condemning them.

 

Go ahead and ship whoever you want. Shipping is for fun! Write the fanfics and make the fanart and be happy. But don’t throw a hissy fit when things don’t go the way you want, or if someone ships someone else. Don’t be that person that ruins it for everyone else.

 

* * *

**youre-under-agreste**

 

I’m a Ladynoir shipper and an Adrien fangirl, but like, can’t we just be happy for them?

Yeah I’d prefer that Ladybug date Cat Noir, and I’d rather Adrien not date anyone, but the only people who have any say in this are Ladybug and Adrien themselves

* * *

 

**lady-of-sugarcane**

 

I just saw a 2k manifesto about why Ladrien is abusive IN THE LADRIEN TAG.  god i hate antis

 

#the ship’s two hours old  #and already the antis come out to play  #why

  
  
  


**whimstories reblogged imclassynoreally**

* * *

**Art_Of_Jessica**

 

[ladrien sharing hot chocolate.jpeg]

* * *

**aafanbug**

 

They kissed an hour ago and there is already fan art. How.

* * *

**lady-of-sugarcane**

 

There was already, like, 3 ladrien fanart on the internet. Ladrien fans went from one person to a hundred in a minute.

* * *

**aafanbug**

 

There were people shipping it before this????? Why????

* * *

**lady-of-sugarcane**

 

I dunno, lol. There are people who ship Cat Noir and Jagged Stone. You think I’m joking, but I’m not.

* * *

**aafanbug**

 

Thanks, I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing that.

 

#ladrien  #ladybug #adrien agreste  #fanart

  
  
  


**ZiriA reblogged whimstories**

* * *

**ZiriA**

 

Okay, but what if... Adrien was Cat Noir?

* * *

**dokidokidoku**

 

His billboards are literally all over Paris. Someone would have noticed by now.

* * *

**lilith-of-netherwood**

 

Someone write the fanfic.

We can do it. We have the technology.

* * *

**whimstories**

  


A/N: Oops.

 

“You know, you’re a real _pizza_ work.” Adrien winked at Ladybug while shoving a deliciously greasy and overkill of cheese pizza slice into his mouth.

 

“Oh no, not you too.” Ladybug moaned.

 

“What?” Adrien asked.

 

“I have to hear bad jokes and puns from my partner half the time, I don’t need it from my boyfriend too.”

 

“Boyfriend?” Adrien’s eyes shined and he dramatically shuffled from the end of the couch to a bent knee and cradled ladybug’s hand in his hand. “I didn’t know I meant so much to you.” He kissed her hand and Ladybug never felt so flustered before.

 

“Well I didn’t—- but we are sort of— “

 

“All I ask is, don’t go bacon my heart.” Then he winked and Ladybug immediately stopped stammering.

 

“Oh my god, you’re Chat Noir.”

 

-Keep reading-

 

* * *

**whimstories**

 

A/N: Srry, one more.

 

“How did you know?”

 

“Sorry?”

 

“That I was Adrien?” Chat Noir perched himself in front of Ladybug and pouted.

 

“I’d be stupid not to recognize that ass in leather.”

 

—— THE END

* * *

**ZiriA**

 

Ahhhhhh! It’s amazing!

 

#!!!!!!  #amazing #ladrien  #fanfic

  
  
  


**Ladubut reblogged ElizabethInTheTower**

* * *

**Ladubut**

 

I WAS OFF THE INTERNET FOR LIKE TWO HOURS AND I COME BACK TO LADYBUG KISSING SOME GUY AND SHIP WARS WTF

* * *

**ElizabethInTheTower**

 

That’s not “some guy” that’s Adrien Agreste. He’s a famous model who works for Gabriel. He has his own perfume line.

* * *

**Ladubut**

 

WELL I DIDN’T KNOW THAT LIZZIE I DONT FOLLOW MODELS AND EVERYBODY HAS A PERFUME LINE THESE DAYS HOW WOULD I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIM AND EAU DE JIMBOB AHHHHHHHHH

 

#lol jk i still love you lizzie  #pls dont be offended #but seriously  #who pays attention to the models? #theres already fanart and fanfic  #never change internet #he is hot tho

  
  
  


**imclassynoreally**

* * *

 

 

The internet’s gone crazy have a cat pic

 

[cute little fluff monster.jpeg]

 

#cat  #black cat  #im not getting involved  #no more ship wars plz #the ship that must not be named

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm crying. Formatting this broke me. I'm so sorry.
> 
> If I ever learn more about formatting on this site, (I'll probably have to learn a lot more html) then I might come back and fix it.


	24. I Like-Like You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day twenty five: I need to transform into Chat Noir, but you won't leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a day late!

With a loud crash the akuma called Lovesuffering tumbled into the previously empty auditorium Adrien was recharging in. Ladybug followed. 

He wished his partner had shown up to the fight earlier,  _ before _ he used Cataclysm. He ducked behind one of the chairs, and peeked out through the gap.

“Tell me who they are!” Lovesuffering bellowed, brandishing some sort of ray gun at Ladybug. “I can sense it. I can sense you have a crush on someone. Tell me who!”

“Sorry, that’s classified information,” Ladybug quipped.

“AUGH.” The akuma stamped her foot. “Why won’t you let me help you? Why won’t any of you just tell your crush how you feel? I’m tired of all the whining!”

“That’s something someone has to do on their- Ah!” 

Ladybug slipped on a piece of rubble and landed on her butt. Lovesuffering took the moment of distraction to shoot her.

“Now, seek your love out and  _ ask them out already _ . Then give me your miraculous!”

Ladybug gasped, and clutched her chest.

“Adrien,” she breathed. She leapt to her feet, frantically looking around. “I have to find Adrien. I have to tell him how I feel.”

“What?!” Adrien clamped his hands over his mouth. He hadn’t meant to say anything.

Ladybug spun towards him. She clasped her hands together under her chin and swooned. “Adrien!”

She hurried over to him. “Are you all right? Did the akuma hurt you?”

He stood up. No use hiding now. “No, I’m fine.”

She smiled softly at him, and his heart stuttered in his chest.

“That’s good. Um, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while. You- that is- I like you, and- and I was hoping that maybe... you’d like to hang out with me sometime?” Ladybug blushed a delicate pink and looked away, twiddling her fingers shyly. 

Adrien gaped at her, his blood rushing to his face. She liked him? Liked him-liked him? That’s what Lovesuffering’s powers did, right? It wasn’t just a love spell? 

No, he’d seen the akuma in action before he’d used Cataclysm and had to recharge. Her magic definitely compelled the victim to seek out their actual crush. Which meant that Ladybug had a crush on him.  _ Him! _

Ladybug’s face fell at his continued silence. “If- if you don’t that’s okay. I don’t want to pressure you-”

“No! No, I was just... shocked is all. I- I-” He gulped, trying to find the right words.

“Yes, yes, perfect,” Lovesuffering said.

...That’s right. There was an akuma. She sneaked up on them at somehow, probably while Adrien was distracted by how cute Ladybug was when she blushed, and now stood right next to them, wearing a gleeful smile.

Ladybug threw her arm in front of him. “I won’t let you hurt Adrien!”

A purple butterfly mask flared across Lovesuffering’s face and she scowled. “Give them a moment. I’ll get her miraculous in a second.”

She pointed her ray gun at Adrien. “And who do you have a crush on?”

“Ladybug,” Adrien blurted.

Lovesuffering blinked. “...Good!”

Ladybug gasped. “You like me, too?”

She met his gaze, hope shining in those sky blue eyes. He stared, transfixed, his breath caught in his throat. Nothing else mattered but him and Ladybug and the electricity between them.

“Ugh, fine.” The purple mask flared across Lovesuffering’s face again. “Give me your miraculous or I’ll kidnap your boyfriend here.”

Oh, yeah. He forgot about the akuma again.

With one smooth movement Ladybug turned and kicked the akuma, sending it flying across the room.

“Don’t worry, Adrien. I’ll protect you,” she said, and scooped him up into a princess carry.

Adrien sighed and resigned himself to being chased by an akuma,  _ again _ , while detransformed.


	25. Advantage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day twenty five: Quiet night in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I heard you guys like humor? Too bad, here's some angst.

When Nathalie told Gabriel what she saw on the security camera footage he couldn’t believe it. But Nathalie never joked, especially about things like this.

He pressed play on the recording, and the screen displayed his son and Ladybug, confirming what Nathalie said. 

For the past few months the outdoor security cameras had caught flashes of red, it raised suspicion, but there was nothing concrete. When the kitchen camera registered movement at one am, Gabriel instructed Nathalie to review the footage. The staff had long returned home, so it could only have been his son, but Adrien rarely entered the kitchen.

Gabriel rejoiced at the surprising revelation of Ladybug in his home, though now he’d have to be more careful concealing his secret rooms and safes.

On the screen the two teenagers moved through the kitchen, searching the cupboards. There was no sound, but their body language was playful, and he could tell they were talking to one another.

Ladybug pulled out bowls and ingredients from the cupboards and pantry, and Gabriel was confronted with the bizarre sight of Ladybug  _ baking in his kitchen at one am _ .

Adrien hovered behind her, clearly curious, as Ladybug sifted flour into a bowl and weighed it on a scale. She turned around and nearly ran into him, and shook her head with an exasperated smile.

Adrien said something, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. Ladybug took a white carton out of the fridge and gave it to him. She pointed to the mixer in the corner and Adrien padded over to it with a pleased and eager expression. He started to whip the cream as Ladybug continued to measure out dry ingredients into a large bowl.

Adrien lifted the whisk out without first turning it off and partially whipped cream splattered across the room. Ladybug’s whole body shook with laughter as Adrien took a step back in shock.

She sauntered over to him, and he covered his bright red face in embarrassment. Gently, she took his wrists and moved his hands away from his face. She wiped the cream from his cheek and popped her finger in her mouth.

Adrien scooped her up, spun around and set her down on the counter. He kissed her deeply, and her hands came up to sink into his hair. 

Gabriel’s eyebrows shot up. Perhaps he should have seen this coming. Teenage girls don’t sneak into boys’ houses late at night for a friendly baking session, after all. Fortunately things didn’t progress any further, and the two finished baking an angel food cake topped with whipped cream and strawberries, stealing chaste kisses all the while.

After the cake was eaten and the kitchen cleaned, Adrien led Ladybug out, presumably to his room.

Gabriel sat back in his chair. So, his son was in a relationship with a superhero-  Gabriel’s nemesis. It was likely serious; Adrien was a romantic and became easily invested in those he cared for. Gabriel could not imagine him entertaining a casual fling.

He tapped his finger against his chin. As far as he knew, Adrien was not dating anyone, so it was likely he did not know the superheroine’s identity.

Gabriel pressed a button to buzz Nathalie. She arrived at his office not five minutes later.

“Nathalie, find out if there are any girls that Adrien has expressed an interest in, and compile a list of his admirers, starting with the girls in his school.”

Nathalie didn’t so much as blink. This wasn’t the strangest thing he’d asked her to do.

“Right away, sir.” She nodded and left, already typing away at her tablet.

Now, how should he handle this? He could put cameras up in Adrien’s room, but frankly he didn’t want to see what his son and Ladybug did in private. The most important thing was that Ladybug was in his house and had her guard down. 

Letting Adrien in on his secret and asking him to help directly was too risky. There was a good chance he’d pick Ladybug, or at least warn her. 

How could Gabriel turn this to his advantage... Perhaps if he gave his son more freedom, or dropped a hint that he knew about Ladybug’s visits and approved...Then they might get sloppy. He’d have to think on this further.

 


	26. Self-Control part three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day twenty six: rooftop date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like how this chapter turned out, but oh well.
> 
> This is the third and final part of the "Self-Restraint" mini-series. The other two are day one and day eleven.

This was it. Today he’d tell her that he knew. That he knew that she was Marinette, and that he was Cat Noir.

Ladybug hummed while she arranged the food on the picnic blanket, a small smile on her face. Out of the large bag carrying the food, she pulled out bread and boxed pastries stamped with the logo for Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie.

Adrien had never given it a second thought, but she always did bring pastries from Tom and Sabine’s. He’d simply assumed that she liked their products;  after all it  _ was _ the best bakery in Paris. Now that he knew it made so much sense.

“There!” she said after everything was arranged to her satisfaction. “I hope you’re hungry. I kind of overdid it.”

Across the blanket she’d spread a wide variety of food — salad, bread, fruit, cheese, baked chicken, a small selection of macarons, and even a bottle of wine.

“I’m starving,” Adrien said, but his gut clenched with nerves.

Ladybug tore off a bit of bread for both of them and poured the wine. He took some food, but didn’t eat anything.

He nursed his wine glass distractedly, his thoughts whirling.

“Is something wrong?” Ladybug asked.

“Ah, no, I’m fine.”

“Oh god, I  _ did _ bring too much food-”

“No, no, really,” he assured her. “I just... have a lot on my mind.”

She pursed her lips but let the subject drop.

_ Just say it. Just say it and get it over with. _

Adrien took a deep breath. “I know who you are.”

Ladybug choked on a grape. Adrien jumped to his feet, knocking over the wine bottle. Oh god, he’d  _ killed her _ .

She waved him off, and he slowly sat back down. She grabbed a few napkins from the picnic bag and avoided his eyes while she mopped up the spilled wine.

“Are you sure?” she said.

“I’m sure... Marinette.”

Ladybug let out some sort of high pitched squeak.

“Oh no, oh no, this is bad,” she whimpered. “I’m so sorry I lied to you, Adrien. If I could I would have told you. Please don’t be angry. How- how did you find out?”

“I understand why you lied.” He hesitated. “And I’ve been lying worse. Because, because I’m Cat Noir.”

Ladybug blanched. “What?”

“Do you remember a few nights ago, when we were on patrol? You said your boyfriend sat behind you in class and, um, I’m your boyfriend, so...”

Ladybug stared off into the distance, wide eyed. Then she threw herself to the ground with a screech, covering her red face with her hands. Her head hit the ground with a painful sounding thump, and Adrien winced.

“I’M SO STUPID HOW DID I NOT SEE.” She rolled back and forth, not paying attention to any of the plates she knocked over. “You even  _ dressed up _ like Cat Noir that one time and I still didn’t see it!”

Adrien scooted over so he was at her side, carefully avoiding the spilled food. “At least when I transform my hair and eyes change. All that changes with you is that your hair gets a little more shiny.” He gulped. “Are you- are you mad?”

Ladybug took her hands off her face and threw her arms out to the side, making a T-shape. 

“Just at myself because I AM SO STUPID.” 

“I mean, are you mad that it’s me? That I’m Cat Noir?” It wasn’t something he’d worried about before, but now, in the heat moment, insecurity flared.

She smiled up at him. “How could I be? Adrien and Cat Noir are the two most important people in my life. Of course I’m not mad they’re the same person.”

Adrien beamed. Why had he been so nervous about this again? He leaned down and kissed her softly. She sighed and shifted her head into his lap.

She stared up at the sky. “It all makes sense now. No wonder Cat Noir was so bad at flirting. He was homeschooled.”

“Hey!”

She smirked at his scowling face. “Aw, don’t be mad, kitty. I still love you.”

She pushed herself up onto her elbows and kissed his scowl away.

 


	27. Boy in the Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day twenty seven: personal day: consensual kidnap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a fairy tale AU for ya'll.
> 
> This is based off Rapunzel, but NOT the Disney version. I changed many details to fit the characters and plot.
> 
> Enjoy!

Adrien’s hands flew over the piano keys, playing a perfect but lifeless tune. He just couldn’t put any passion into his music, not anymore.

His mind wandered as he continued to practice. It wasn’t like he needed to pay any attention to this song; he’d played it perfectly a hundred times before. He wished his tutor was here. She was the only one who brought him news from the outside world since his father locked him in this tower.

“Adrien?”

His hands came down on the keys, producing a jarring dissonance. He whirled to face the voice.

A black haired girl, dressed all in red with a sword on one hip and a bandalore on the other, crouched on his windowsill, eyes wide and pink lips forming a perfect ‘o’.

“Marinette?”

She gaped at him, still in shock. “I- You- You were here the whole time?”

Adrien left the piano bench, the legs screeching as they were pushed across the floor, and strode over to her; she hopped down from the sill to meet him halfway. 

He cupped her face with his hands, and they searched each other’s eyes, praying this wasn’t a dream.

“Marinette.” He laughed joyfully. “Or should I say ‘Ladybug’ now?”

Her smile lit up the room. “That’s right — don’t you forget it.”

Adrien attended Marinette’s — no, Ladybug’s — knighting a year ago, and he was privileged enough to be invited to the private celebration afterward. He’d laughed with his friends as they all ‘introduced’ themselves to Ladybug. It was the last fun thing he’d experienced before he was locked in this damned tower.

When Marinette was chosen to become the next Mage Knight of Creation and Luck and bear the ladybug miraculous, he’d secretly hoped that he’d be chosen to be Cat Noir, the Mage Knight of Destruction and Ladybug’s destined partner. His greatest wish was to stay by the side of Marinette — Ladybug — the kindest, bravest, most beautiful girl in the world.

But Adrien’s dreams were crushed when his father abruptly announced it was too dangerous to stay in the city, and shut him away from the world.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I had a training exercise in the forest, and I heard piano music. I followed it and-” Ladybug shrugged.

Adrien hugged her, joy radiating from him. She was here! The love of his life. Not that she knew that. He never worked up the courage to tell her. In his darkest moments he’d feared he’d never see her again.

“I missed you,” he said.

Ladybug blushed a delightful shade of pink. “I missed you, too. Everyone did. No one knew what happened to you. We were all worried.”

Adrien suspected his father hadn’t told anyone where he went.

“Come sit down with me.” He led her to the small table in the corner of the room. “Tell me what I’ve missed.”

She sat down across from him. 

“Well, mostly I’ve been training. They still haven’t announced the next Cat Noir, which is strange because Ladybug and Cat Noir are usually chosen within a few months of each other. Oh, Nino and Alya are dating now! And Chloe’s... still Chloe.” She chewed her lip in thought. “Alix won a skating competition and qualified for Nationals, but besides that nothing big has happened.”

Adrien felt a pang of disappointment in his chest. He wished he had been there. But he also felt a bubble of hope. Cat Noir hadn’t been selected yet...

Ladybug must’ve read the melancholy on his face. “Everyone would love to see you.” Her eyes darted around the room. She whispered, “I could take you to them, if you wanted.”

Adrien’s heart pounded in his chest. He knew he should say no.

He nodded.

“Please.”

 

* * *

  
  


The night air chilled him, but Adrien couldn’t bring himself to care. After a long day of tearful and joyous reunions, he stood on the rooftop of the city’s grand cathedral next to Ladybug, or, as he’d teasingly nicknamed her, his Lady.

Later there would be hell to pay. But now it was just him, Ladybug, and the lights of the city sprawled before them.

Today was not a day for caution. He kissed her.

She kissed back.


	28. After the Air Clears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day twenty eight: the fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter put up a fight. I couldn't think of an idea for it forever, and no matter how I rewrite or tweak it it just doesn't feel right. So I'm posting it as is.

“The upcoming date for the trial of accused magical terrorist Gabriel Agreste has been confirmed to be March 5th. When asked about the long delay, the prosecutors stated that due to the sheer number of witnesses and complexity of the evidence-”

Adrien numbly clicked the channel up button on the remote. He really didn’t want to hear any of this, but he kept coming back anyway. When did he become such a masochist? Oh right, when it turned out his own father was also his supervillain nemesis.

The next channel was playing an educational program for children. Adrien stared at the screen, vaguely taking in the chipper man singing a song in English to a group of kindergarteners. After about a minute he hit the next button on the remote control again.

On the screen, four men and women in business casual sat around a coffee table discussing... something. He tuned them out. The colors on the screen blurred as his eyes unfocused. His mind was blank and he preferred it that way.

The sound of his name snapped him out of his stupor.

“-and really what kind of monster does that? His own son!”

So the hosts had moved on to whatever inane topic they were discussing to the topic of Hawkmoth. Great.

“Some people, and I’m not saying I agree with them, say that he was never in danger in the first place. And some go even go even further and suggest that Adrien was in on it and the whole thing was just a smoke screen.”

One of the women, a blonde woman in a blue pencil skirt, threw up her hands in exasperation. “That’s just absurd. If you watched any of the footage of the times Adrien was attacked by an akuma, you can tell that he is in real danger. There were some close calls.”

The other woman nodded sagely. “We have some footage available. Let’s take a look.”

A clip played of Riposte’s sword glinting in the sunlight as she lunged towards him, barely missing. Seeing it through a shaky recording was somehow more terrifying than when it happened. They skipped to a clip of him tumbling through the air in front of the Montparnasse Tower, and his stomach clenched, nausea rolling over him. His father had- His father- 

He smashed the channel up button.

Ladybug’s scowling face greeted him.

“I don’t want to hear another word about this!” She aggressively pointed her finger in the direction of the camera. “Adrien had nothing to do with anything Hawkmoth did. He’s as much a victim as anyone else, if not more so, and he doesn’t deserve the way everyone is treating him.”

“But Ladybug...” a reporter said.

_ “Not a word!” _

A shaky smile made its way onto Adrien’s face. He could always count on his Lady to back him up.

After they defeated Hawkmoth — after they defeated his father — Adrien had been terrified that Ladybug would hate him when she found out who he was.

But of course he shouldn’t have. His compassionate Lady would never do something like that.

“Oh, Kitty,” she said, gathering him in her arms. “I’m so sorry this had to happen to you.”

He had clung to her as he wept. His tears choked him. But she was there through it all, and he knew that she would never let him down.


	29. Perfectly Natural

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day twenty nine: Stuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter should be up later today!

The akuma caught Adrien before he even had the chance to think ‘oh, hey, there’s an akuma.’ Why she was in this tiny, semi-obscure public park, he didn’t know. 

He tried to run, but his feet stuck to the floor. With a great deal of effort, he managed to take one step, the sticky substance on the sole of his shoes squelching as he did so. His pant leg brushed the other, and they stuck together. He desperately wobbled to keep himself from falling over.

“How do you like it?” the akuma growled. “You teenagers never clean anything and it’s always  **me** that has to deal with your mess.”

Actually it was Adrien’s maid who had to deal with his mess, but he didn’t think saying that would help his cause.

The akuma leaned in close, her teeth gritted in anger. “How many times do I have to tell you kids not to eat while you play video games. Do you know how many controllers I’ve gone through? They aren’t cheap! But, no, please, eat more jam. And the dishes! Why can’t anyone-”

“Hey! Over here, Ms Sticky!” Ladybug called from atop a nearby building. She smirked down at them, her hands on her hips.

“It’s Mama Clean!” the akuma snapped. “You’re a good girl, Ladybug. You clean up the city after the other akumas make a mess. Give me your Miraculous and I won’t stickify you.” She pointed her spray bottle at Ladybug.

Ladybug tapped her finger against her lips in mock-contemplation. “Hmmmm... Nah.”

Mama Clean roared in anger. Ladybug laughed and jumped off the building and out of sight, and the akuma gave chase.

Adrien (carefully!) turned his head to look and see if there were any stragglers in the park. He couldn’t  _ see _ anyone, but that didn’t mean no one was there. Should he risk it and transform?

Ladybug suddenly landed in front of him and he nearly fell backwards.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you,” she said.

Adrien glanced, bewildered, at the rooftop she had been standing on earlier, then back at her. “Weren’t you- How did you get here? Where’s the akuma?”

Ladybug gave him a mischievous smile. “Oh, she’s chasing after the wrong Ladybug. Hopefully it’ll keep her distracted until Rena’s illusion runs out.”

“Oh, um, that’s good,” Adrien said lamely.“But... why are you  _ here? _ ”

She blinked at him in surprise. “To rescue you, of course. You’re in danger if you stay out in the open. I’ll get you somewhere safe.”

He opened his mouth to tell her she didn’t need to do that, then paused. ‘Somewhere safe’ was probably somewhere isolated. He’d be able to transform and hopefully the sticky stuff would wear off with the transformation.

“Thank you, Ladybug,” he said.

“Now, how do I get you out of here without getting stuck to you myself...” She looked him up and down and pursed her lips. “Maybe if I- No. Hmmm...” She tilted her head to the side and squinted.

“I guess I have no choice. Lucky Charm!” she said.

But before she could catch it an explosion rocked the ground and propelled Ladybug into Adrien, knocking them both down. The Lucky Charm hit the ground next to them.

They lay there for a moment, stunned.

“I didn’t realize she could blow things up,” he said faintly.

“I- I guess it goes along with her whole... making messes thing?”

Adrien’s breath stirred the loose strands of Ladybug’s hair. They were stuck cheek to cheek and he couldn’t help but feel her hot breath against his ear. One of her hands rested on his shoulder, and the other stuck on the ground next to his face. 

She squirmed and he was suddenly very aware that her whole body was pressed against him, every curve of it, one of her legs between his.

“Stop, please,” Adrien wheezed.

Ladybug stopped. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”

Adrien winced. “No, you didn’t hurt me. It’s just a bit... uncomfortable.”

“Oh,” Ladybug said. Then after a long silence, “ _ Ohhhhh. _ ”

“Yeah.”

Adrien’s face turned bright red and he was glad she couldn’t see it. At least this couldn’t get any worse.

Ladybug’s earrings beeped shrilly.

“Oh god,” she said with a gasp of horror. “I forgot I used my Lucky Charm.”

Ladybug squirmed against him again in a panic. Despite the direness of the situation, Adrien felt himself... well.

Once she felt it she froze. “Really?”

“Sorry.”

“Now’s not the time!”

“I can’t help it! It’s- it’s perfectly natural! I mean sometimes it happens for no reason.”

“Dear god,” Ladybug muttered. Her ear, the only bit of bare skin that Adrien could see, was bright red.

“I really am sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I just gotta find a way out of this situation without... yeah.” 

The skin of his cheek stung as Ladybug attempting to pull away.

“Oh my, my, isn’t this a sticky situation.” Rena Rouge leaned over them, a wicked smirk on her face.

“Rena!” Ladybug cried. “Thank god you’re here.”

“Oh? I was worried I was interrupting.” Rena winked at Adrien.

“Ugh- Guh- Shut up! Can you get my Lucky Charm and tell me what it is?”

Rena moved back out of Adrien’s field of vision.

“It’s, um. Oh! It’s a can of glue solvent. That’s easy.”

Rena sprayed the two of them and after much coughing and stinging eyes, Adrien and Ladybug separated.

“So yeah,” Ladybug said, pointedly staring away from him. “I gotta go recharge, bye.”

She ran off without another word, leaving Adrien alone with Rena Rouge.

Rena waggled her eyebrows at him. “Have a good time, Romeo?”

Adrien stuttered out a nearly incoherent response. He was never going to be able to look at either of the superheroines in the eyes again.

 


	30. Too Far

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day thirty: akumatized

Adrien scrambled away as a bubbling blackness enveloped Marinette.

Nino dragged a screaming Alya away, and Chloe was smart enough to run from the locker room at the first sign of an akuma. But Adrien had been close enough that the burst of sheer power that came from Marinette when the butterfly landed knocked him to the ground. He’d never seen anything like it before on the few occasions he personally witnessed someone get akumatized.

The purplish-black energy receded from Marinette’s — the akuma’s — form, leaving her tar black with a somehow familiar silhouette. Adrien shook his head. Of course it was familiar, she was one of his closest friends.

The akuma opened her eyes, and the white, shining, star-like pits landed on Adrien.

Adrien’s heart thudded in his chest. She was right in front of him, and there was no way to escape.

Her eyes burned into him, and she took a single step forward.

“Listen, Marinette, I’m sorry about Chloe. I should have- should have-” His eyes darted around the room, desperately trying to find a way out.

The akuma said nothing. She reached one hand toward Adrien.

_ Crap, crap, crap _ . He couldn’t transform in front of an akuma, not without revealing his identity, and to Hawkmoth of all people. Besides, Alya was still in the room, struggling in Nino’s arms and shouting Marinette’s name.

Adrien cringed as the akuma’s hand came closer. All he could do was hope Ladybug showed up soon, and whatever the akuma did to him was easily reversible.

But contact never came. Instead she reached past him and picked up Marinette’s purse.

Dumbfounded, Adrien watched as the akuma opened the purse and pulled out something small and red. A kwami. The  _ Ladybug _ kwami.

Marinette had the Ladybug kwami. Marinette was Ladybug. Marinette was an akuma.  _ Ladybug was an akuma. _

The akuma took a small, black, circular object off her hip — a yo-yo — and clicked it open. A brilliant white light shone out, and sucked the kwami in.

The akuma/Marinette/Ladybug snapped it shut, and turned away from Adrien, not even sparing him a second look. She strode from the locker room, past a shocked Alya and Nino, paying them no mind, her yo-yo still in hand.

The revelation that Marinette was Ladybug, something that would normally be earthshaking, paled in the face of an akumatized Ladybug. 

Adrien shakily climbed to his feet. He had no idea how to begin to deal with this. Ladybug was the one who came up with the plans, and she was... And how would he purify the akuma? How could he fight without her by his side? How could he fight  _ her? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it!
> 
> Thank you so much, everyone who left kudos, commented, and/or subscribed. Your support means everything to me.
> 
> I learned a lot this past month. My writing skills drastically improved, as did my mental stamina and discipline. I'm glad I decided to participate.
> 
> Massive thanks to Whimstories for betaing my work, and to ZiriO for being my #1 commenter.

**Author's Note:**

> [Come give me external validation on Tumblr.](https://sacchariwrites.tumblr.com/)


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